#last one ended on one hell of a cliffhanger so i am suffering | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wlw-lovestruck-fiction · 4 years ago

Note

Can we get a fluf fic where Mc tries to keep up with goofy/funny/silly/playful/sleepy/naughty Vivienne? Please I miss my babe😢

Pairing with: PLEASE ANY VIVIENNE X ZOE X MC FLUFFY WOULD BE APPRECIATED 🥺

PLEASE may I request ANY Vivienne x Zoe x MC fluff? Pretty please?…

...

In hindsight, you should have seen it coming. You didn’t even stop to think about where Vivienne had gone off to, used to her random disappearances in the morning and far too distracted with the newest episode of a show Zoe and you liked to wonder about it for long.

Almost buzzing with excitement, you enter Zoe’s room, dropping in the moving chair she has by her side and eagerly watching the screen.

“How much is left?”

“Half an hour, but I think we’ll manage.”

With nothing else to do but wait, you quickly dissolve into excited theorizing, while Zoe just sits there and listens, adding the occasional ‘uh-huh’ here and there. You both had worked out what the twist might be the other week, so you limit yourself to wondering about the characters themselves. That eventually turns into a discussion of ships.

Zoe isn’t much of a shipper, you’ve noticed. She keeps to the margin and analyses everything objectively, acknowledging character interactions but never focusing on them. You were the complete opposite, and a crack shipper to boot, which often clashes against Zoe’s logical side and sparks some amazing debates.

You’re in the middle of one right then when Remy interrupts, knuckles lightly tapping against the door’s side as he peers in, face blank as he looks at the two of you on your respective chairs, cocooned by a blanket, popcorn sitting on your laps. “I’ll never understand what you like so much about that show.”

“Excuse you,” Zoe huffs, angrily grabbing her soda and giving him a sour look. “It’s an amazing show.”

“Amazing!” You echo, as you have done many times before. “I am appalled you don’t see its genius, Remy! Appalled!”

“Right, sure. I remember you both were hysterical over the last cliffhanger. Did you figure out who the murderer is already?”

“Oh yeah,” you wave your hand around, as if dismissing the subject. “Last week. What we are discussing right now is why the prosecutor and the assistant are such a good pairing–” Zoe turns to look at you as if you had just proclaimed the sky was purple, and she looks so baffled you dissolve into a fit of giggles right then and there.

Remy smiles, shaking his head fondly, and stepping out without another word.

“Leaving that atrocious pairing aside…”

Zoe nudges the discussion into another direction and you allow it, satisfied with the reaction you got from her earlier. You’re both stealing anxious glances at the screen, excited to see that only a few minutes are left.

“This is it,” Zoe mutters softly. “The end of this case. The next one is going to be so weird.”

“We’ll probably find out what happen to the firefighter, right? Honestly, it just looks like they got abducted by aliens–”

“MC!” Rings a voice. Zoe scowls immediately, as if that was her standard reaction to Vivienne – or yet another interruption. Probably both.

“Hey babe, where were you?”

Vivienne’s smirk softens at the petname, quietly pleased. “Oh, you know, getting some things ready…”

“Huh? What, for the heist?”

“Something infinitely better.”

“What could be better than the heist?”

Her eyes gleam, dark pools of chocolate drawing you in like a sailor entranced by a siren’s call. “Why don’t you come with me and find out?”

Zoe groans.

“Can you stop being horny for–” her gaze drops quickly to the clock, “–24 minutes? It won’t kill you, will it?”

“You are always invited to join us, darling.”

“Pass.”

“Your loss,” Vivienne says, with a small shrug. “Then, MC–”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure babe, just gimme 24 minutes.”

“Twen– what?” Her eyes follow yours, locking onto the screen. “…Ah. Today is Monday. I forgot.”

“Prepared a whole ‘romantic’ outing for no reason, did you?” Zoe grins. “Sucks to be you.”

A light frown appears over Vivienne’s face. “It’s… only half an hour. I can manage that much.” She finally says, body turning slightly, as if she were on an internal war over leaving and staying.

“Great. You’re making progress, Tang.”

Vivienne rolls her eyes, most of her good mood visibly diminishing. She hesitates a second longer before turning in your direction, pursing her lips. “So– a show. I’m getting cockblocked because of a show.”

“A great show,” both Zoe and you say, nodding solemnly.

“But you already know how it’s going to end. Who the murderer is. MC, you told me that last week!”

“I mean, it’s only a theory Zoe and I have. We still need to see if it gets confirmed.”

“It surely will.” Zoe says, smugly. “The signs are all there. He won’t get away with it. The scarf will be his undoing, no doubt.”

“Wait, you’re still with that? It’s the statue! It’s too fishy! If they check it and–”

“MC, you can’t be serious–” Vivienne tries to interject, but Zoe quickly cuts her off with her own rebuttal to your argument, and the seductress gets this strange look on her face, gaze flicking between the screen, Zoe, and you, stunned for all of two seconds before she shakes her head, schooling her expression.

You distractedly wonder if she’ll leave, your attention quickly taken by the beginning of the opening notes of the show. You enter than zone where nothing else matters, nothing else exists but the screen and you are positively buzzing, mind racing with all the things that could possibly happen until a red blur passes in front of you, something heavy landing so unexpectedly on your lap it takes your breath away.

“Wha–”

“Ow! Hey! Vivienne?!”

It takes you a moment to understand what happened, snapping out of the concentrated state you were a few seconds ago. Vivienne has perched herself on top of your lap, curled there like a smug cat, her arms loosely wrapped around your neck and her gaze is so intense it sets your whole soul alight, consuming every thought you had previously.

You have the same reaction any person would have in this situation, which is, to have a full gay panic.

She– she feels so warm and she’s so close and oh god those eyes–

“Vivienne, what the hell!”

One glance to the right reveals what has Zoe so pissed: Vivienne has her legs high up in her direction, blocking her view of the screen. You don’t even know why she’s so mad, it’s a very nice view–

“The show just began! Are you really that salty?!”

Show? What sh– Ah. That show. Right.

You try to maneuver around Vivienne’s head to look at the computer, but one of Vivienne’s hands instantly grabs your chin, forcing you to look at her with a gentle but firm gesture. Barely, you catch her move her legs to block Zoe too.

“Eyes on me, partner.” She all but purrs, commanding, and your brain short-circuits when she presses herself against you.

“Really? Really?!”

Vivienne gives Zoe her best smoldering smirk. “Oh, I know that look. It’s okay, dear, you can go first… maybe bend me over the table–”

“I’m going to throw you out of the window–”

“Is that your kink, Zoe? Press me against the window, giving everyone full view of–”

“Oh my god–!”

Taking advantage of the situation, you try to peek at the screen again. Vivienne’s grip tightens, making you whimper slightly, her blazing brown eyes meeting yours again.

“Ah ah ah, what did I say? Do not disobey me.”

“Viv…”

“Keep looking at me, sweetheart. If I catch more wandering eyes, you’re going to regret it.”

“Ah… but I…”

Her eyes flash, her thumb tracing the lines of your lips roughly, effectively shutting you up. Vivienne looks pleased, all dark passion, grip softening. She starts tracing a line down to your throat, leaving a trail of tickling heat after the touch.

“Suffering from success, aren’t you, MC?” Zoe dryly states, maneuvering around Vivienne’s outstretched legs with a scowl that could give Nikolai’s a run for his money. She reaches for the back of the moving chair you had borrowed, beginning to push you. Vivienne makes a chocked sound of surprise low in her throat, tightening her hold over your neck. “That’s it. All I want is to watch my show in peace, no interruptions-”

“Um, our show-”

“-and no Vivienne being Vivienne for the next 20 minutes.”

“What am I supposed to be then?”

“Be a doormat for all I care, just do it outside my room!” She punctuates her statement with one final, fully determined push, sending you skidding towards the hallway. Vivienne thrusts her legs to the right, managing to use her weight just so to spin the chair in time. The back collides against the wall with a dull thump, and you barely see Zoe’s deadpan expression before she closes her door. “You better return my chair later!” Is all she says, presumably heading back to her computer.

“…aw, I wanted to see this episode.” You finally mumble, shoulders dropping dejectedly.

Vivienne blinks owlishly at you. “Isn’t the episode going to be available later?”

“Well, yeah, but I’m curious to see how the arrest will go. I don’t think I can wait another day.”

“Arrest. Such an ugly word, when you are a thief.” Vivienne hums, pressing into you just slightly, eyes alight with mirth. “You are quite taken with it regardless… Is it the thrill?”

“Uh…”

“You know, partner, if you want to be in cuffs so much, all you have to do is ask.”

Color spreads over your cheeks like spilled wine, sweet, impossible to hold back. Vivienne leans forward, eager for a taste, that smirk of hers firmly in place and you briefly wonder if you’ll just burst, too filled with surprise and frustration and a little bit of heat.

“Think only about me, MC.” Vivienne mutters, breath ghosting over the skin of your ear, coaxing a shy shiver out of you. The vibrations of her voice send ripples of emotion through you, make you groan slightly. Smirk widening, not caring one bit that you are still on the hallway, one of her hands drops down, down-

“20 minutes! Just 20 minutes!” A flash of gray. Vivienne’s startled squeak. Her grip loosens and she goes tumbling down your lap, the floor receiving her with its cold embrace. Zoe’s door slams shut – again – and your gaze drops, discovering the slipper resting by Vivienne’s hand with an amused snort.

“She got you good, huh?”

“She – just took me by surprise, is all.” Vivienne says, after a pause. You giggle, pushing yourself to your feet and offering her your hand, which she takes gratefully. She doesn’t let go, instead pulling you in the direction of the apartment’s exit, and you throw a longing look in the direction of Zoe’s room before accepting your fate.

You’ll have to watch that episode tomorrow, it seems.

#Anonymous #answered #lovestruck #lovestruck fanfiction #queen of thieves #qot #lovestruck qot #lovestruck queen of thieves #vivienne tang #qot vivienne #zoe banks #qot zoe #zoe being done with vivienne #qot mc #fluff #fluffy #miscellaneous monday

76 notes · View notes

teenwolffan-with-nolife · 4 years ago

Text

The Witch and The Wolf Pt.49

Word Count: 2, 932

Characters: Derek Hale (brief), Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, Lydia Martin, Kira Yukimura, Malia Tate, Araya, OC Characters, Kate Argent (mentioned), Reader

Pairings: Eventual Derek Hale x Witch!Reader

Warnings: angst, TW: slight mentions of losing weight, small fluff, cliffhanger

A/N: ---

Masterlist Series Masterlist

You walked into the loft once again, throwing all your things onto the couch, before grabbing your first-aid kit and heading to the bathroom. After spending the last few days staking out yet another Calavera hideout in the states, it was clear to you that Derek wasn’t at any of them. You only had a few more Calavera bases left to check out to find Derek.

You poured rubbing alcohol over your wound, while you dug your nails into your palm before letting out a soft exhale. It had been almost one month since Derek went missing.

You hadn't seen Scott or Stiles, or any member of the pack within the last month, not wanting to worry them. You could do this on your own. They would end up figuring it out sooner or later. You told Sheriff Stilinski, who put out an APB on Derek to try and help find him.

You bit your lip gently, trying to hold in your inner feelings and emotions. It was no surprise that you were a wreck since Derek went missing, and you were gonna do everything you could to find him.

---

“No means no, Stiles,” you grabbed your duffel bag, loading it up once again.

“We’re trying to help you-” he started.

“I don’t need help, Stiles. All I need is for you to leave me the hell alone,” you sounded rude than you meant to come off, but you didn't care enough. You were exhausted.

Derek had been gone for two months now, and you've been doing everything you can to try and find him.

“Just, stop, (Y/N)! Stop denying our help! You need us!” he yelled.

“Stiles, I swear to god, you are the most annoying person I know. Is it that hard for you to comprehend what I mean when I say I don't need you?!” you yelled at him, taking him by surprise.

“I’m trying to help you. Do you really think none of us realize how much you've changed?” Stiles’ voice softened as you leaned on the table.

“Stiles…”

“We know for a fact that you’re not getting any sleep. You’re so tired, you look sick, like y-you’re dying. You’re not… when was the last time you ate something, (Y/N)? When was the last time you took care of yourself? Had something in your body that wasn't coffee? I am begging you, as a friend, as one of your closest friends, let us help you and please, take care of yourself,” you could feel your tears welling up in your eyes before you wiped them away.

“I need to find him, I-I…”

“I know, you love him. But you can't do that if you’re dead.”

You let out a shaky exhale before rubbing your face, nodding softly.

“What do you want to do?” you asked softly.

“Just take us with you. We have a break in three days. You finished checking all the Calavera hideouts and places in America, so we need to go to Mexico,” he asked.

You nodded softly. He wrapped his arms around you for a moment, while you shut your eyes tightly, taking deep breaths.

“Thank you, Stiles,” you whispered.

He gave you a small smile, before leaving the loft.

---

“Oh, this is by far one of the worst ideas you’ve ever had, Stiles,” you walked alongside him, as the two of you made your way to the closed door, with guards standing in front of them.

“It’s not that bad,” he replied.

“I agree with (Y/N). It’s dumb and we’re going to die,” Lydia said.

“Well, I’d like to save all ‘death talk’ to all banshee predictions,” Stiles replied.

“I still can't believe I let you guys come with me,” you muttered, before standing in front of the guards.

They scanned the three of you before blocking the doors.

“Estamos aquí para la fiesta?” you asked. (We’re here for the party)

The guards shook their heads once more, remaining silent.

Stiles held up a car, with a skull symbol on it. They both nodded their heads, moving aside to let the three of you in.

---

After entering, the three of you stuck together. You noticed Severo pulling out a walkie-talkie, most likely alerting Araya of your presence.

You took a deep step, walking forward into the crowd of dancing teens, before making your way to the bar. One step closer to finding Derek.

You felt a pair of hands on your shoulders as you clenched your jaw.

“How about a drink, (Y/N)?” you heard Severo’s voice as you let out a small breath.

“Consider it a thank you gift for dumping me in the woods instead of killing me,” the bartender put a shot of vodka in front of you.

“I didn't come here to drink. Now, where’s Araya?” you took out a bullet from your purse, with the Calavera logo on it, before dropping it into the shot cup.

“Come with me,” you three followed him to a back room, sitting down on a table, a few seconds before Araya entered.

“(Y/N), it’s good to see you again,” Araya walked in front of the three of you.

“We want Derek back,” you said.

You put 50 thousand dollars onto the table, stacking them up.

“For Derek,” you crossed your arms, sitting back in the chair.

“It wasn’t smart for you three to come alone,” Araya smirked.

“Wait a minute,” Stiles interrupted.

“Who said we came alone?”

---

“I don’t think you’re aware of the poor timing! You’re familiar with the dark moon, aren't you, (Y/N)?” she walked around you three slowly, keeping you uncomfortable and on edge.

“The part of the lunar phase where the moon is least visible on the sky,” you answered.

“But do you know what it means?” she asked.

“Some people say it's a time of reflection, or grief,” Lydia replied.

“Grief and loss, Mija. I wonder why, after suffering so much pain and loss, why do you risk it again for someone like Derek Hale?” she asked.

“Maybe we’re done with losing,” you rested your head on your hand, leaning your elbow on the armrest.

You heard Severo’s walkie-talkie going off, saying all the exits and entrances were clear, except for one.

“North? Are you clear?” Severo asked again.

“(Y/N), you guys can take 10 off the table,” Stiles pulled 10,000 off the table, before crossing his arms.

“I’m not playing games, Araya. Give him to us, now,” you could see Stiles staring at you uncomfortably, while your eyes glew purple.

“You can’t do anything to hurt us, Mija. I believe you’re familiar with a special herb, Hawthorn,” you dug your nails into your palm, feeling a sharp pain in your arm.

You saw a needle sticking out of it, while you quickly pulled it out.

“What the hell was that?!” you yelled.

She aimed a gun at your leg, before shooting while you yelled out.

“(Y/N)!” Lydia yelled.

“Run! Both of you!” you fell to the ground, trying to push yourself up as you whimpered softly.

---

You slammed your fist against the door, yelling out in anger.

You could feel the rest of the pack giving you a look of concern, while you sat on the floor, with a ripped part of your shirt tied against your leg. You refused to let anyone heal you.

“Maybe we should…” Stiles started.

“Shut up, Stiles,” you spat.

“I was just trying to…” he started.

“Patentibus,” your eyes glew purple as you punched the door as hard as you could, only hurting yourself as it remained shut.

“As soon as we get out of here, you guys are going straight back to Beacon Hills,” you said.

“We’re not leaving you-”

“You kinda don’t have a choice,” you turned to face them.

“We should make a run for it,” Malia suggested.

“Well, we can’t leave Lydia,” Stiles said.

“Yeah, we can. We can leave (Y/N) too,” you looked slightly offended, raising an eyebrow.

“If you were still a coyote, is that what you’d do?” Kira asked her.

“(Y/N)'s injured. So yes, I would leave her. Lydia's probably gone by now too,” Malia replied.

Yeah, I can see the resemblance to Peter now

You heard the door open, as Severo pointed a gun at you.

“Come with us. You and the alpha,” he said, grabbing your arm before pulling you up harshly.

Scott obeyed, while he followed you out.

---

The restraints pulled at your wrists while you sat on the chair, your back to Scott’s.

“What are they gonna do to us?” Scott asked you.

“I don’t know yet. Just give me a minute to figure out how to get out of this,” you sighed, leaning your head back slightly.

“Can’t you use your magic?” Scott whispered.

“Don’t you think I already thought of that?”

“Well… can't you?”

“No, Scott, I can't. The bullet she shot at me was covered with Hawthorn ash, not enough to kill me but definitely enough to the point I can’t use magic. Can’t you use your alpha powers?” you asked.

“These handcuffs are metal,” he replied.

“This isn't how I like to be tied up,” you muttered softly.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you heard the door open, while Araya’s men pooled into the room, while Severo had his hand on Kira’s arm.

Lydia was bought in, sitting at the chair next to you and Scott.

“What the hell are you doing, Araya?” you raised your voice, in panic as you frowned.

“Just a small test, Mija. We’re asking you a few questions. You answer you’re safe, you don't, you get electrocuted,” she shrugged.

“I thought I could put it past you to hurt children, clearly not!” you yelled.

“Turn the dial up to one, Kira,” Araya turned to her.

“W-What? No,” Kira panicked, taking a step back before Severo held her hand against the dial.

“If you don’t, then we’ll electrocute Lydia,” Severo spat.

You knew Lydia wouldn't recover as fast as you and Scott.

“Don’t hurt Lydia,” you shook your head, looking at Kira.

Tears welled up in her eyes before she looked at Scott.

“I-It’s okay. Just do us,” Scott nodded his head softly.

You felt the electric current coursing through your skin as you clenched your teeth together, trying to save Araya from the satisfaction of hurting you. You could hear Scott yelling out in pain.

This was gonna be fun.

---

“Tell me! Who actually has Derek?! Who has a reason?! A vendetta against the Hales?!” Araya yelled.

“We don’t know!” you yelled out.

“You haven't figured it out yet! Who! Think, (Y/N), Scott! You know!” she yelled.

“Tres,” Kira turned up the dial, while you yelled out, feeling your sight go dizzy.

“Who turned?! A shapeshifter! Someone who could have turned without you knowing! By a scratch! Not a bite!” she yelled.

She put her hand on the dial, about to raise it again as you shut your eyes tightly.

The only people who were scratched were you and Kate. Jackson was a werewolf now, he didn't matter.

You let out a small gasp of realization. But it couldn't be Kate. She was dead, and had been for a while. Unless she healed.

She was scratched, (Y/N)

“Who is it?!” she yelled, turning the dial all the way up.

“Kate!” you yelled out, before you fell unconscious, leaning against Scott.

“(Y/N)!”

---

“Oh my god,” Scott helped you up, as you groaned, opening your eyes.

“Holy crap. A-Are you okay?” you asked him.

“I’m fine, I’m basically healed. You?” he asked.

“I feel like shit. But it doesn't matter, we know who has Derek now,” you limped, while Scott has his arm on your shoulder, walking out with you.

“She’s just letting us go?” you asked skeptically.

“Yes, I am,” she walked to the two of you.

“I sent four men to where Kate was rumored to be. None of them returned,” Araya explained.

“I have to… what’s your game? First, you torture us for some she-wolf, and then for Kate Argent. Now you’re just letting us go. Why?” you asked.

“Peter is the only one who knows who and where La Loba is, Mija. I want Kate dead as much as you do, and I knew you wouldn't believe me,” she explained.

You scoffed slightly, before grunting.

“I have a guide who will lead you and your friends to the place where Kate is,” Araya said.

The two of you walked away from her, heading to Stiles and the rest of the pack.

“Oh, look, we have matching scars,” you smirked slightly.

“Not funny,” Scott scoffed, hiding his smile.

Stiles wrapped his arms around you two.

“Did you wish you came alone now?” Stiles teased.

“Shut up, Stilinski,” you rolled your eyes.

“I see being tortured put you in a better mood,” Stiles said.

“Let’s just get Derek, okay?”

“Do you even know what you're gonna say to him?” Scott asked.

“What do you mean?” you frowned.

“Your big ‘I love you and I can’t breathe without you’ confession,” Stiles asked.

“I’ll punch you in the throat, right now,” you started.

“He’s joking. We’re closer to finding Derek and that's what matters,” your smile faded slightly, while worry took its place.

Kate was alive, and she had Derek. What was she doing to him?

You heard a motorcycle engine rev, before seeing a woman in leather taking off her helmet. Your jaw dropped in amazement, recognizing her.

“Nice to see you again, Braeden,” you said, walking over to her.

“(Y/N), you’re riding with me. We’re going to La Iglesia,” after the first time Araya captured you, Derek, and Peter, you were sure to always keep in touch with Braeden, keeping her especially close the past two months.

“Did you also know that Kate had Derek? And where they were?” she threw you a helmet as you walked to her.

“I got a job from Araya yesterday to take you. If I knew anything I would've told you,” she replied.

You nodded your head, getting on her motorcycle.

“Let’s go then.”

---

“Look at the sun, we don't have time for this,” Braeden pointed out.

Stiles’ jeep had decided to break down in the desert, on your way to La Iglesia. The sun was going down, and it was never safe to be out in the desert at night.

You paced around slightly, becoming more and more worried as you bit your nails.

“What are we supposed to do?” Scott asked.

“M-Maybe we should just split up,” you said.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked.

“Me and Braeden can go to La Iglesia and get Derek. The rest of you can stay here and try to fix the jeep,” you said.

“Are you crazy? No,” Stiles shook his head.

“Stiles, we are way too close t-to just give up,” you hadn't noticed your eyes water slightly.

“We’re not giving up,” Scott agreed.

“(Y/N), you’ve basically been suicidal these past few months! W-What if Kate does something to you? What if you don't come back?” Stiles’ voice lowered slightly.

“We’ll be fine, Stiles. I’m not stopping now,” you shook your head.

“Look, how about me, (Y/N), and Braeden go? Stiles, just stay here and fix the jeep, okay?” Scott said.

After a moment of argument between Stiles and Scott, then Scott and Kira, the three of you made your way to Braeden’s motorcycle.

“This is probably going to be one of the most uncomfortable rides of your life. Ready?” she asked.

The two of you nodded your head, holding onto each other.

---

After entering the church, you held a flashlight in your hands, trying to look around carefully as you made your step further in. You stayed alert, on the lookout for Kate or anyone else that would be there.

You felt a weird sense rush over you, as you frowned slightly.

“What is it?” Braeden asked.

“I don’t know. I-I… It feels like Derek, but it's not,” you said.

You heard footsteps behind you three, as you tensed.

“Run.”

You ran farther down into the church, following Braeden and Scott while you heard something growl behind you.

Braeden pushed you and Scott behind her, holding her shotgun as she fired at the creature. You could hear it growling, only getting madder.

“Ruina,” your eyes flashed purple, as the walls around you three collapsed onto the floor, blocking you off from the creature.

You turned around, seeing some sort of crypt with a logo on it.

“The Nagual jaguar god. I think we found Derek,” Braeden looked up at you.

You let out a shaky breath, before running your fingers through your hair. Tears began forming in your eyes as you placed your hand onto the crypt. You felt dead, scared of what you would see, whether or not Derek was there, whether or not he was okay.

“Intermissum,” you pushed on the crypt, while it broke open.

“Oh my god,” your eyes widened.

“That's not Derek,” Scott frowned.

“N-No… that's him,” you were in shock still, seeing Derek’s unconscious form laying inside.

Except he was 15 again.

“Derek?” you called out his name, getting no response.

You pulled him out of the crypt, while you and Braeden kept him standing up. His feet dragged in the ground, while you continued to look at him, shocked.

“He’s 15,” you said to Scott.

“What? How?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” you shook your head.

“But I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Kate Argent again sooner than we want to.”

75 notes · View notes

det395 · 3 years ago

Text

ty sm arlo @throwing-roses-into-the-abyss for tagging me :D

1- how many books are too many books in a series?

i need a lot of convincing already to agree to the commitment of any series but i think if i fall in love with one then i’d be happy if it’s pretty long. but i think 4 books is a good number for a series

2- what do you think about cliffhangers?

hhhhh i want all books to be rounded out satisfactorily, but a bit of a cliffhanger can be fun

3- hardback or paperback?

paperbacks, with a passion! they’re cheaper, smaller, lighter, easier to hold/bend into position, i hate hardcovers where the sleeves are slippin and slidin, and i dont mind the look of worn books at all in fact i think it’s pretty cute (which i might just be saying bc i wreck all my books ok im gonna shove them in my backpack it cant be helped) and i want my bookshelf to be consistently paperbacks so i get Angery when new books only come in hardcover and i have refused to buy books for that reason. but i have a few used and gifted hardcovers

4- least favourite book?

i can’t say that i hold any real grudges against any books, but there is one book “in the name of the family” that my parents gave me for christmas, maybe bc i had a GoT phase? and it’s my only 1 star book. it’s probably not a BAD book but oh my god i could not get through it, every paragraph was torture because it was just so fucking BORING and i didnt understand the historical context or what was going on, nor did i care at all

5- Love Triangle, yes or no?

i feel obliged to admit that i will still go ham for the twilight love triangle if prompted, even if some (a lot) of it annoys me i fuckin love that drama so alas i cannot claim superiority in my tastes, but usually these days if i see a love triangle i scream at my book “JUST BE POLY!”

6- the most recent book you just couldn’t finish

star eater, which made me sad to abandon! it wasn’t even bad, hell it was about cannibalistic zombie nuns so it was right up my alley, but something about it fell so flat and i didnt care at all and i had another book that i wanted to read so i DID. bc i want to dnf more easily instead of forcing myself to suffer through books im meh about. but it still made me sad to not give it a full chance, even tho i think if it’s not great for the first bit, there’s not a big chance it’s going to turn around

7- book you are currently reading

the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman! i am enjoying it

8- last book you recommended to someone

the secret history by donna tartt to a couple of friends! have already promised to lend it out once i buy a copy lmao. loved ittttt SO MUCH

9- oldest book you read

maybe frankenstein, 1818? i dont read many classics, and i also dont know when they’re from usually so i could be forgetting something, but probably isn’t that likely that i’ve read anything before the 1800s

10- the most recent book you read ?

(most recently published?) probably the final volume of attack on titan!

11- favourite author?

ahhh i don’t have a favourite and that seems like a lot of pressure to choose, i just have authors that i enjoyed enough to want to try more books by. some of those authors (not in order) are patrick ness, emily st. john mandel, shirley jackson, haruki murakami, benjamin alire saenz, stephen king, maybe donna tartt now. idk none get Master status in my books that ill read anything they write and i have big issues with some of these even ghdfjs and i have the feeling that im missing some

12- buying books or borrowing books?

was just talking today about how cute it is to borrow books! but im probably the biggest reader of my irl friends so it’s usually me buying all the books and then lending them out instead of the other way around lol….

12- a book you dislike that everyone else seems to love

didn’t HATE these but just wasn’t a big fan: jane eyre, the night circus, difficult women, couple books by akwaeke emezi that i wanted to love

14 - bookmarks or dogears?

bookmarks! ahhhh dog ears stress me out no creases!! im always smoothing out creases. sidenote: someone once bought me a metal bookmark and i was like wow fancy and then it ruined the pages lmao never again

15- The book you can always reread?

i rarely do rereads, id probably get sick of any book. excited to reread the haunting of hill house tho maybe that will become mine

16- can you read while listening to music?

sometimes i need it, sometimes i have to turn it off in order to see lol

17- one POV or multi POV?

one pov preferably but multi pov can be done so well

18- do you read book in one sitting or in multiple days?

ive only ever read one book in one sitting and that was eclipse lmao. i definitely don’t have that focus anymore, it always takes me a while just because my mind wanders

19- who to tag:

ill tag @realisaonum @uttermywish @overcapitalized @natigail @tarredion if you guys want! :D

9 notes · View notes

vermillionflames · 4 years ago

Text

part 3. working on a title. can also read here

one: i do not like writing fighting scenes, one was needed so i bull shat my way thru it, sorry

two: it gets really fluffy at the end (and spicy if salt is too spicy for you)

nozel x oc

warning: language, mention of blood during a battle, fluffy nozel, cliffhanger?

enjoy!

“You sent her to the Black Bulls?!”

“Are you questioning my judgement?”

“Yes, obviously. You sent your sister to live with a bunch of heathens. I understand she can’t be with us, by why not just not make any arrangements for her?”

“Because if I had done that she would go to the entrance exam… and make a fool of herself in front of everyone. I have to prevent any embarrassment for our family.”

I lean back into my desk chair and look up at Nozel.

“The Black Bulls… are so unbearable.”

“Perhaps I’ve spoiled you.”

“Don’t you hate Yami? What did you say last time you had a captains meeting… foreigner??”

“Yes, he’s a foul-mouthed, filthy foreign-”

I crossed my arms and smirked.

“Then what, pray tell, am I?”

“I must leave now. I have some things to complete before the exam tomorrow.”

“Why? I mean you’re not gonna recruit anyone who attends the exam and we’ve reviewed every eligible royal and high ranking noble.”

“Captain duties, you wouldn’t understand.”

“I understand that you’re avoiding the question.”

“Seraphina, I really must go now,” He turned and walked towards the door.

“Wait, am I a foul-mouthed, filthy foreigner or not?”

“Foul-mouthed? Yes. Filthy? I should hope not considering how much time you spent in the bath.”

“Oh, so now you have a problem with how much I bathe?”

“Don’t forget to review that mission for me,” and with that he left. Note to self: ask how many baths everyone takes. ---- Nebra went to the entrance exam with Nozel. Solid was too busy being Solid… which meant I had to go with Rob and Curtis to Nairn to investigate rumors of Diamond Kingdom spies influencing commoners. Commoners upset with royalty? Not unusual but not something I wanted to deal with. I could not come up with anything brilliant to say to make them happy, handing out money felt like a facade, and how many times could I subject myself to be known as “the pretty one who hugs old men and kisses babies.” Oh, and there were the spy rumors. If there really were Diamond Kingdom spies we would probably have to fight them, and I don’t know if three of us in the middle of a populated area would be the best idea. Nonetheless, duty calls.

I made Rob and Curtis eavesdrop around the town while I went to the church to ask the sisters if they knew of anything suspicious going on. Of course Sister Theresa was not gonna let me off easy.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because you live here.”

“Why do you think I would know anything?”

“I don’t know, because you try to protect these orphans.”

“Why hasn’t Fueggy come to visit me?”

“Do I look like I talk to Fuegoleon?”

“Did you at least bring a donation… for the children?”

“I always do.”

“Where is your husband?”

“Suffering at the exams, hopefully.”

“Why don’t you-”

“Sister, I appreciate the conversation but time is of the essence. If there are spies here we really need to take care of them before they cause physical harm.”

“Fine, but you’ll have to tell Fuegoleon to come visit us.”

“I’m sure he would be delighted to. Now, I know you were once a Magic Knight. What have you seen?”

“They meet at the bar and talk to the alcoholics, bless them, about uprising and taking down the Magic Parlament, attacking nobility and royalty, standing up to the Magic Knights.”

“Oh good. Just the kind of thing I wanted to deal with alone.”

“You’re going to deal with them now?”

“I might as well! Thank you, Sister.”

I didn’t run into Curtis or Rob on my way to the bar so I decided to go in alone. Didn’t make an effort to take off my Silver Eagles robe or House Silva insignia, which I will later regret, no doubt.

I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. It became so quiet you could hear everyone breathing.

“Are you sure you want a beer… your highness,” the bartender asked. There was some poison in his words.

“Yes, please,” I smiled and dropped a few too many coins on the counter, while also taking a seat on the bar stool.

He comes back and sets the stein in front of me.

“Thank you,” he watches me take my first sip. “Is something wrong bartender?”

“Yes,” a voice from behind me says. I turn around and see three Diamond Kingdom spies and that the rest of the patrons have left. Uh oh.

“Oh hey, I was actually looking for you,” I get my grimoire out, “Would you mind coming with me?”

“Like hell I would,” they also pull out their grimoires. I’m not good at combat when I also have to be careful about civilians. Before I can cast a spell they attack me and I’m forced to be defense. I used my magic to create a barrier to protect me from attacks, but one of the Diamond guys grabs it and absorbs my mana, sucking it out of my hand.

“Well, that isn’t good.”

He gets close enough to grab my chin and forces me to look at him. Ew.

“You’ll be a nice prize back home,” he continues to suck my mana out of me, “I’m really sorry we have to do it this way. I’ll make sure to keep enough that you live… then we can have some real fun.” Double ew.

Against my better judgement I try to go for a physical attack and bang my head into his. He lets go of me and I get a raging headache plus blood from breaking our skin, but I don’t have enough mana now to move and I fall to my knees.

“Oh, you want it to be that way huh,” he grabs my wrist and pulls me up. I’m dizzy and seeing black dots. Next time, don’t slam your head so hard into some guys jaw, you fucking idiot.

I can feel a mana empowered fist go into my side before the dizziness gets to be too much and I black out.

----

I feel cold, silky sheets all around me. I’m too tired to open my eyes. I can sense some bodies are around me.

“She’ll be fine, she just needs rest.”

Oh I recognize that voice, thank god, those creeps didn’t take me.

“Captain, we didn’t know the spies were there and ready to attack or we wouldn’t have split up-”

“No one knows what mages from other kingdoms will do, what’s important is that you were able to stop them. The Wizard King is interrogating them as we speak.”

“Captain.”

“You two are dismissed. Thank you.”

“Captain Nozel,” I hear the doctor speak again, “I wasn’t able to fully heal her broken bones, I’ll come back tomorrow to finish the treatment. They’ll be sore and she-”

“That’s fine, she can be sore.”

Tough love, oh how I missed you husband.

“Alright, I’ll take my leave as well.”

I could feel him staring at me and decided I did not want to deal with whatever he was plotting so I went back to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again it was dark out. Someone had put me into a silk nightgown… God, my body is sore. And it’s fucking cold in here. I reached out to grab more bedding to snuggle into and hit my hand against something fleshy instead. I looked over and saw Nozel sleeping next to me. Um? Excuse me, this is my room. We have a deal. Actually… I’m cold, he’s radiating heat… I’ll just cuddle into him.

I don’t allow myself to think anymore before I lay my head on his chest and reach across his body with my arm. He doesn’t flinch so I know he’s in deep sleep and will not say shit to me about this.

I guess through the night we had managed to get closer because when I woke up my legs were tangled with his and his arms were holding me. I laid listening to his heart beat. Please don’t wake up, please don’t ruin it. I had to enjoy my affection in short lived moments so I always pray he doesn’t stop once he starts.

But I live in an unfortunate reality where Nozel does wake up. I turn my head to stare at him. He stares back. Now either I hit my head so hard I became stupid or I am in a coma. Because instead of getting off I lean my lips towards his and kiss him. And he kisses me back. Something he does like once every 3 years.

He puts his hands in my hair and deepens the kiss. Oh I like this. He flips us so that I'm on my back and he’s hovering over me. I’m feeling very, very hot. I put my hands on his cheeks. He doesn’t pause so I take it as a sign to continue and let my hand drop down to the top of his shirt and pull on it. He breaks away.

“That’s enough for now,” he gets up from the bed and I groan. Dammit.

“Why?”

“Because I said so. Owen will be here shortly to look over your injuries again. I would advise getting dressed or putting on a nightdress that is… less revealing.”

“Who cares about Owen? I want whatever that just was.”

“Perhaps another time,” Nozel was at the door that connected his room to mine, “Now when I come back with Owen please be presentable.”

#nozel x reader #nozel silva #angel #nozel x oc #black clover nozel #black clover oc #black clover imagine

26 notes · View notes

itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

Text

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Strings”

Happy Saturday, RWBY friends! I am, quite obviously, going to dive into the recap in just a moment, but first I wanted to take a short detour to discuss the elephant in the tumblr room. Namely, Supernatural.

For those of you out of the loop, the tl;dr is that a fifteen year, beloved show ended with a truly horrendous finale. Specifically, the finale rejected everything that the show had been building towards: the logical conclusion to character arcs, the theme that “family don’t end in blood,” the potential for a queer romantic relationship… I could go on. The point I want to make is that the fandom had every reason to believe we’d be getting these things. This isn’t a case of fans upset that the finale didn’t go the way they wanted as an individual viewer, but rather that the finale didn’t go the way the show clearly and explicitly said it would. It’s not an exaggeration to say that in many respects, viewers were straight up lied to.

(I recommend reading the reviews.)

What does this all have to do with RWBY? Well, I can’t help but think that history is repeating itself. Certainly there are some notable similarities between the two series. Both have long, meandering plotlines with no clear end in sight (though I hope RWBY doesn’t reach the 15 Volume mark…). Both began with a small, core cast, but quickly expanded—generating the expectation that these now equally important characters will be given their due. Both have moved from the small conflict of fighting everyday monsters to a god-based mythology. Both have a popular queer relationship dangled in front of the viewers, featuring scenes where they’re “obviously” in love… but will it ever be confirmed? Both have a fanbase that says loudly and confidently that the writers know what they’re doing. Just wait! It’s all been planned! We’ll be rewarded for our patience and soon all the naysayers will be proven wrong.

Thing is, the Supernatural fandom wasn’t rewarded. Right up until a week ago those fans—myself included—had faith that the writers knew what they were doing because they can’t really be that out of touch with their own story...right? It’s not possible. Yet they were, it was, and now that I’ve gotten solid proof of precisely how far a show can go to reject its own logic, themes, and premise, that just makes me more wary of RWBY’s mistakes. Before I had a solid faith that things couldn’t possibly get that bad, that no matter how much RWBY might be messing up in the short term, it will undoubtedly pull it together overall, because what show wouldn’t? Especially a show with such promise and, at times, wonderful storytelling. Well, Supernatural didn’t manage it and frankly I’m not sure what to do with that information.

Seriously. I don’t have any grand conclusion here. It’s not my intention to suggest that anyone should stop watching RWBY, or to claim that it will absolutely fail because Supernatural did. Obviously, we don’t know what will happen until we get to see it in the show. I only want to acknowledge these parallels and the similar journey I see both fanbases on. I can’t help but wonder if, a couple years from now, RWBY fans will be making incredibly optimistic posts about how it’s all coming together, just have some faith, everyone who says that the group won’t get a satisfying ending, or Blake and Yang won’t be confirmed are just mean trolls… only to wake up that Saturday morning and get another metaphorical slap in the face.

It’s something to think about.

But here I’ve spent a page talking about the wrong show. Let’s get into the episode!

We open on a black screen with lots of ambiguous noises. At first I thought this was Oscar struggling in the Hound’s grip or something, but then I remembered that RWBY likes to insert an episode between cliffhangers. I watched Ironwood (presumably) shoot a guy and he only came back this week (though that question still isn’t answered. At this point I kind of wonder if it will be). Oscar was kidnapped last week, which means we won’t get to see him until next week. Or… two weeks from now? RT skips the week of Thanksgiving, don’t they? Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Something horrible happens to Oscar and we need to wait two weeks to find out how it’s resolved.

Watch him escape the Hound off screen and return to the group with a new outfit 😂

So it’s not Oscar we hear, but Ruby, the last one coming out of the tube. Weiss is in the process of pulling Nora’s ear for that stunt… with a frankly strange looking hand. What’s up with RWBY animating weird hands lately? I’m pretty sure that’s not how anatomy works.

Anyway, Nora counters that this was a “Once in a lifetime experience,” but they were all going to go through the tubes regardless. Weiss isn’t pissed that you sent her through, she’s pissed that you did it unexpectedly when she was alone, heading into enemy territory. But of course, there’s no one in the room to hinder them, so the mistake is meaningless.

We’re setting the tone again though. For the first half of this episode everything is sunshine and giddy adventure, which doesn’t fit the situation at all. It also creates emotional whiplash when I’m suddenly supposed to be super worried about things later on. This sort of about-face works once in a blue moon, as an emotional punch, like we see in Mulan:

But RWBY does it every other episode, which makes the overall tone of the series confusing instead. Half the time RWBY feels like two different stories—the cartoony tale of girls going on fun adventures, and the traumatic tale of a fantasy war—that have been badly spliced together.

“Alight, Robo-Girl, which way?” May asks and Penny demonstrates why she’s the best for sneaking into a facility. She’s able to map out the whole place, including seeing where everyone is so they can avoid detection. Kudos to RT for going this route. I was worried that they would have Ruby and the others straight up attacking Atlas grunts, knocking them out/potentially even killing them because who cares, right? They’re the bad guys! So I’m glad they’re working to get in and out undetected. Granted, we see in some places that they’re clearly willing to fight the soldiers if it comes to that—they’re reaching for their weapons when Penny opens the final door, expecting the room to be full of people. They were going to attack—but at least they’re trying to lessen that conflict as much as possible. That’s the sort of choice I expect to see from heroes and I’m glad we got it here.

After scouting the area Penny corrects May: “And my name is Penny,” to which Ruby gives a satisfied “Heh.” I’ve got no problem with Penny rejecting nicknames, even potentially well-meaning ones, because she’s always struggled with her status as a real girl and her name is her own. She gets to decide what others call her. I do, however, have a problem with making the presumed trans character the one who is corrected. Granted yes, we haven’t gotten confirmation in the show that May is trans, but RT doesn’t get to cash in on that rep without likewise suffering the consequences for how the character is treated. You’re telling me that a trans woman is going to roll her eyes when someone asks her to use a specific name? Please give May flaws, yes, she’s a person, but out of all the millions of flaws across the human spectrum, this is the one we’re shown?

Not to mention Ruby’s continued attitude. It’s like, ‘Yeah, May. Stop being a horrible person who draws attention to the fact that Penny is a robot. I never did that.’ Except when Ruby first met her she didn’t know Penny was a robot. Just like she didn’t know Blake was a faunus—something we’re reminded of this episode. We might assume Ruby wouldn’t have ever made any missteps at the beginning of these relationships, but the fact remains that she got to know both girls before their minority status was ever revealed. Ruby loved them before she ever had to grapple with their differences.

Put in her place, May then demonstrates that she can make lots of people invisible, not just herself. That’s handy. She creates an invisibility bubble that reminds me of Harry’s invisibility cloak. In the sense that others might not be able to see you, but they can still hear and touch you, which makes sneaking around still pretty challenging.

No sooner have I thought that then two guards get into the elevator with them. The group keeps quiet as the duo discusses how no one can get close to Salem’s storm without “getting shocked right out of the air.” Interesting. And frankly one hell of a roadblock if the Hound escapes into the clouds. Oscar may be gone for a while if he doesn’t escape on his own... The woman also comments about how creepy it is that all the grimm are just hanging out, waiting. It’s “worse than if they’d attacked.”

No it’s not! RT, stop trying to implement the idea that Salem withholding her forces is some epically cool choice. She should have decimated everyone by now and the fact that she hasn’t just shows how transparent the problem is: you’ve created a villain that’s too powerful and now you don’t know what to do with her.

As the group sneaks out of the elevator Nora grins and presses all the buttons, which is, as expected, a dumb move. They’re supposed to be sneaking into this base. If they’re caught they’re going to be thrown in jail at best, killed at worst, but Nora wants to risk that for a practical joke? Again and again we see this insistence on incorporating comedy where it’s not only unnecessary, but actively interferes with other aspects of the scene.

Reaching a terminal, Penny inserts her finger and gains access via Pietro’s credentials. She’s really demonstrating this episode why she’s… pretty terrifying? I mean, Penny is an incredibly powerful fighter with a computer’s view of the world, access to everything in the most powerful Kingdom alongside its information, and she now has Maiden powers to boot. Which, I should add, it took her one fight to master (because remember, the heroes are now always as strong as they need to be to win…). Now that Watts is planning to hack her, I expect her to be an incredibly formidable enemy, just given the amount she could potentially do. I think Penny herself is too kind to exploit all that potential and as we’ll see via Pietro briefly taking control, she doesn’t always have the knowledge to use the tools at her disposal. But in the hands of someone like Watts? He’ll turn Penny into the ultimate weapon.

Access granted, they learn that they have to go “Right through central command!” Of course, Penny makes it sound like a fun game and the spy-movie music/cartoon lecture doesn’t help. Again, tone. It’s adorable! It just doesn’t fit sneaking into a military base with your lives on the line while Salem waits outside. That was a RWBY Chibi moment.

Penny explains—twice—that Ruby can use her semblance to fly them all through central command and it’s treated like a revelation. At first, I was pretty confused because Ruby has been dong this for ages? She carried Weiss in “Argus Limited” and Nora during the Geist fight. But upon close inspection, what Penny seems to have “figured out” is that Ruby can carry multiple people at once because the “mass doesn’t matter.” Okay. Not a contradiction then, though I think RT could have made it a little more clear that Ruby was shocked at the idea of carrying multiple people, not carrying someone at all.

What I do take issue with though is Ruby mastering this skill instantaneously. I mean, why is Ruby being forced to try this on the fly (pun not intended)—Penny has known the layout of the building since they made this plan. She knew they had to get past central control and that it would be packed with people. She’s obviously thought about Ruby’s semblance a great deal—and why is she succeeding? Give me a Volume 7 where Ruby actually trains in this technique, set up via Harriet’s comment early on about her semblance, and then she’s victorious here when it finally matters. Or give me Ruby assuming she can pull off this incredibly difficult skill only to fall out of her semblance halfway through, a roomful of Atlas personnel staring at them. Then what?

Not this.

This is a character who does everything perfectly on the first try without ever having to fail. Ruby is boring like this.

Crisis averted, we transfer to Ironwood who is… working with Watts.

What else is there to say? I’ve already laid out all the reasons why this is stupid and makes no sense. Others keep coming onto my posts to explain to me how Ironwood’s awful deeds up until now fully show his decent into villainy, conveniently ignoring the numerous limitations he was under and his choice to do what he thought was best for the world using inaccurate information. Ironwood was always a divisive character and many are happy to ignore the years’ worth of deconstruction done—a man who looks like the Evil Military General but actually isn’t—because they never liked him to begin with. Not liking him is fine, no one has to like any character, but I’m honestly shocked by the number of viewers who refuse to acknowledge how bad the writing is, even if it means defending a character they hate a teensy tiny bit (#SupernaturalVibes). As a friend put it, Ironwood now feels like a caricature of his former self, a Pure Evil Ironwood who appeared out of nowhere and is now here to stay. He shoots kids. He shoots unarmed civilians. He teams up with Salem’s men and tries to hack Penny. These are undeniably horrible acts, they’ve just been given to a character who never would have done them until RT randomly flipped the Evil switch.

The “RWBY” tag, alongside all the fluff moments of this episode, is now filled with posts encouraging Marrow to turn, yelling at the Ace Ops for being “bootlickers,” and capslock screaming at anyone who dared to speak up for Ironwood. It still sucks to have bad writing twisted into an attack on the fans and it’s going to continue to suck until at least the rest of Volume 8. I’d like to again remind everyone that Qrow teamed up with Tyrian a few episodes, yet because he’s again in Ruby’s graces, that was twisted into a ‘not that bad’ situation. The issue isn’t really that Ironwood is teaming up with one of Salem’s subordinates, but that he’s doing it to go against RWBYJNOR… the second a character teams up with Salem to get what Ruby wants (to not have her team in jail) then that’s totally fine… but that’s a wrinkle a lot of people are happy to ignore.

So yeah, Ironwood is an idiot now too. Like Qrow also was last Volume. He really thinks Watts isn’t going to betray him somehow? Although, I do wonder if the chance to ruin Pietro’s creation outweighs his loyalty to Salem, but the point is that Ironwood can’t be sure of that either. At least he’s smart enough to keep Watts under continuous guard. He puts his hand on Watts’ shoulders and goes, “I’d hate for us to have to try motivating you. Again.”

So he tortures people too now? Like I said, caricature. This was Ironwood and we were given no clear idea of where he disappeared to.

RIP a great character.

Watts notices though that Pietro has apparently accessed a secure area and alerts Ironwood to it. I laugh that the information is just ¡EMERGENCY! In large, red letters. Ironwood immediately makes an announcement for everyone to be on guard. It’s a level 3 lockdown — that won’t impede the group leaving via airship! — and they’re to use “lethal force” if necessary. Weiss is disgusted.

As much as I disagree with making Ironwood into a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy — he’s definitely wrong to be doing this — I also find myself rolling my eyes at reactions like that. Yes, Weiss. You attacked four operatives until they were knocked unconscious. Prevented an entire city from escaping Salem’s wrath, endangering them all. Now you’re breaking into the most classified room in the Kingdom to steal an equally qualified project and use it for your own means. There’s no reason why Ironwood would level his might against you. Is death still an extreme response? Yes. Should Weiss be acting like Ironwood is crazy for responding to them in an extreme manner? No. Her remark makes it sound like Ironwood is attacking her poor, innocent, defenseless team… not the team that’s been lying to him, betraying him, attacking him, and stealing from him. Not the team carrying deadly weapons into a facility to take what they want at any cost.

With their presence known, May wants to go grab an airship. That’s the series now.

Meanwhile, Penny insists that they can still complete their mission and we see Nora come up with some sort of plan.

Except, what plan was this?? What did she say to the group? ‘Hey, let’s wait around until some guy conveniently walks by with a full cup of coffee. Then we can trip him and the mug will fly alllll the way across this gap to land on a terminal, startling at least two workers. Except this guy will be hated by the whole room because he’s always messing things up—his coffee mug has been changed from #1 Dad to #1 Dud—so that this little mishap will create a ruckus that gets everyone involved, giving us the opportunity to slip by them all.’

Seriously, what? This kind of “plan” only works with someone like Clover, where we know he has a good luck semblance and thus all these unlikely pieces fall into place. I could absolutely buy Clover smiling smugly, working under the knowledge that he just has to wait around a few minutes and something will come along that works entirely in his favor. But Nora? How did she know any of this would happen? Obviously she couldn’t have, so what exactly was their intention if this coffee carrying, hated guy didn’t show up? RWBY, your contrived plots are showing.

I do, however, love the grimm Jaws poster. Jaws is an absolute favorite of mine, so seeing a reference to it in RWBY? A funny one at that? It almost makes up for how bad this episode is lol.

Because frankly I’m bored. The group sneaks around, criticizes May and Ironwood, briefly confuses me about Ruby’s semblance knowledge, and gets through tons of Atlas personnel in the stupidest way possible. I have to watch this guy running out of the room with coffee on his pants screaming, “WHHHYYY???” and he doesn’t notice the five girls standing right next to him. It’s silly. It’s boring. Luckily for RWBY, things are about to pick up in the second half.

After Ruby gets them upstairs and the final room is also conveniently devoid of people, Pietro takes control of Penny—including yellow possession eyes like Oscar has with Ozpin—and he...gets Amity started. That’s it. After a whole volume of ‘It’s not finished yet’ and ‘We barely have the resources’ and ‘Robyn stole what we were using to do idek what with’ he presses buttons for a while and they’re in. How good for them!

I do love that Penny calls Pietro “Dad” though. I’m here for the android-father relationship.

While Pietro works we turn to Blake, Weiss, and Nora. Blake tries to convince the audience that Ruby and Yang had an actual fight with, “I’ve never seen Yang and Ruby fight like this.” Yeah, because no one in this group has ever said the sliiiiightest thing against Ruby, so you all read the tinniest disagreement as a “fight” to be worried about. I mean, doesn’t RT have friends to draw inspiration from? They’ve never disagreed about Huge and Complex Questions before? Never gotten pissed and then shrugged it off the next time you want to text? RWBY’s idea of a diverse friend group feels like many other writers’ idea of a sibling relationship: anyone with an actual sibling goes, “What is this?” Speaking of, Weiss explains that sisters often have “very different ideas about what’s right” as if, again, people don’t have different ideas? Just in general? Why is this suddenly a sister thing? She’s clearly thinking about Winter, but doesn’t actually bring it up, so all we’re left with is the same situation we had last Volume. Weiss thinks she’s right, Winter is wrong, and they’re just going down their separate roads because there’s definitely no reason to re-examine any choices here. It’s all static.

Until Winter betrays Ironwood, of course.

Nora tries to reassure Blake that the group will be fine (ha) even though they’ve split, the irony being that we, the audience, know they just got wrecked by the Hound. Jaune is a great leader though, Oscar has grown so much, Yang could defend them all in a fight, and Ren… well, she can’t think of anything to say about Ren. I hate the Nora is acting like Ren has drawn away from her for no reason, after she chose to kiss him—without consent—rather than listening to what was bothering him, then proceeded to pretend that this mystery problem never existed. What does she expect? I do, however, like the general acknowledgement that she doesn’t know who she is without Ren. Who is Nora? Someone who is “strong and hit[s] stuff?”

See, this feels like RT writing self-consciously because Nora doesn’t have much of a personality. Oh, on a surface level she’s bursting with it, but past the bubbly exterior? That single layer? We can add maybe one thing to this “Likes Ren, is strong, hits stuff” list: she’s funny. That’s it. Anything else we might add like “she’s loyal” or “she’s kind” is just a generic characteristic of this entire team. They’re all meant to be crazy talented good guys and even the “is strong” aspect is suspect when others frequently pull off attacks as showy as Nora’s hammer hits. So who is she? What are Nora’s dreams? What are her hobbies? Her fears? Her history? We’ve seen a single flashback of her on the streets and one scene back at Beacon where she listens to music and reads a magazine. Seven years worth of material and that’s it. There’s a reason why the go-to, non-combat action for Nora in fics is “makes pancakes.” We know so little about her still.

So I was excited for a brief, shining moment. Yes! Explore who Nora is outside of being strong and hitting stuff! … and then her big action this episode is, as she says, being strong and hitting something. Don’t get me wrong, outside of that setup it’s pretty epic. I like Nora going to those lengths to save Penny and I absolutely love the repercussions of the choice: a broken aura, passing out, and badass lightning scars all over her arms and neck (especially when women often aren’t allowed to accumulate scars in visual media). That’s pretty damn awesome. It’s just that it comes on the heels of the story insisting that Nora is more than this, that we’ll learn something new about her… and we haven’t. This is indeed cool, but we already knew that Nora was willing to crazy lengths by hitting things really hard. That’s already her established norm.

At least this moment has some really nice characterization alongside the stupidity. The conversation between Ruby and Penny is just plain stupid. Penny wants to stay to help with the evacuations, but Pietro says she should come with him in Amity. Why? As Ruby says, because then she’ll be up in the sky and Salem won’t be able to access the relic.

That’s what Ironwood wanted to do! We could have had this conflict episodes ago with you all working with him! I really can’t with this cast. Also, the rest of this is still confusing. I thought pretty much everyone was in the slums by now, so what evacuation are they talking about? Do they plan to evacuate everyone in Mantle out of the kingdom somehow… like Ironwood wanted to do with Atlas? And why are they acting like Amity is evacuating some people too? I thought they were just using it as a communication device? To add insult to injury, Ruby then contradicts herself a minute later when she tells Harriet that Ironwood can’t have the relic because “Salem will find her way to the relic no matter where you go.” Ruby, if Salem can access the relic high in the sky she can also access Penny in the sky. If you believe that literally nowhere is safe then why are you sending Penny away under the claim that she—and via her the Relic—will be safer? If you want Penny in Amity to lessen the chance of Salem getting the Relic, why can’t Penny be in Atlas while simultaneously (hopefully) getting a whole slew of people to safety?

I’m continually confused by this “plan” of theirs. Their claims just flip-flop according to what (supposedly) contrasts them with Ironwood. Even though that’s not actually the case.

Penny is me, sad while watching this train wreck of a scene.

So yeah, the Ace Ops are here. I’ve wondered since the trailer why Weiss looked smug while everyone else was startled. Turns out it’s because of her line, “So, your first time losing to us wasn’t enough?” I can’t express how much I dislike all the girls’ personalities now. I want to shake some compassion and humility into them. Plus, they never should have won that fight in the first place. Marrow yells, “We were holding back!” but coming from the team’s weakest member it reads as defensive. Like we’re supposed to go, ‘Lol yeah right, Marrow. Just admit you got your ass kicked,’ even tough the Ace Ops should have wiped the floor with them, holding back or not. That’s my biggest takeaway from this fight: it’s the reverse of what we should have gotten. The Ace Ops should have beaten Team RWBY with ease and struggled greatly against an android Maiden, not falling before a bunch of teens and succeeding against Penny if not for Nora’s timely breakthrough. Your half-trained cast of growing heroes should not come across as more powerful than an intelligently designed weapon now wielding magic.

Before the fight starts we get a whole lot of lines that are, frankly, frustrating. Vine tells Penny, “I thought you were supposed to protect the people, not hurt them” which is true enough. Penny is taking action that is putting a lot of people in danger, regardless of the fact that Ruby is at the helm. Problem is, the Ace Ops then blame her for Winter’s injuries and “stealing” the power? That’s not the issue here. The issue is Penny’s blind loyalty to Ruby, but by having the Ace Ops back a stance that is clearly inaccurate—Penny didn’t cause Winter’s injuries, Cinder did; Penny didn’t steal the powers, she was encouraged to take them—it makes them come across as Very Evil people who will twist things to make poor Penny look like the villain. Even if this is a case of Ace Ops having bad intel (which seems unlikely. Wouldn’t Winter have told them what happened?) RT has avoided letting the Ace Ops take a justified stance here because that would make them look too sympathetic… even though they do have multiple justified stances to take. Like, ‘Hey, stop keeping half a kingdom here where Salem can easily kill them all’ or, ‘Hey, why did you spend months betraying Ironwood and then turn on us instead of trying to find a compromise?’ Even, ‘Why did your uncle help kill our leader?’ There’s plenty that the Ace Ops should be rightfully pissed about, so choosing Penny and Winter out of everything feels like RT is firmly backing them into Ironwood’s corner: you’re just bad now and bad people blame innocent girls, rather than acknowledging the actual wrongs done against them.

So we have Ruby contradicting herself and the Ace Ops backing warped ideas that make them look worse than they actually are. Adding to the stupidity is the fact that Elm mentions that Winter is in “critical condition” and Weiss… doesn’t care. Harriet then tells Ruby that she’s “throwing [her] in jail right next to your uncle, runt” and... Ruby doesn’t care. Qrow is missing and Ruby just found out he’s been captured by Ironwood, yet there’s no reaction whatsoever. This show continues to go hard on the ‘screw adults’ mentality, huh? Ozpin needs to keep quiet and is horrible for coming back. Ironwood is now a cartoon villain. Winter made the wrong choice so no one cares about her anymore, not even her sister. The Ace Ops remain enemies despite trying to talk things out. Qrow? Barely know him. Who’s he? This is a Ruby loves Penny episode. There isn’t enough emotional nuance for her to care about him too.

The sad thing is I adore Nuts&Dolts. In a different context these moments would be a goldmine for me.

If anything, this episode feels worse than the majority of last week’s because there are good things here that have been thrown into a bad setup. I can’t get excited for the group’s battles when I see who they’re attacking. It’s hard to squee over Ruby hugging Penny when she doesn’t react to Qrow. Watching Nora go all Thor feels like it only has half its potential when it’s coming out of a very messing, ‘I’m more than just being strong and hitting things… which is why I’ll continue being strong and hitting things.’ RWBY has excellent moments set into a terrible story.

The fight, at least, is exciting. The Ace Ops goad Penny into stepping away so they can trap the rest of Ruby’s team—smart—and she’s forced to hold her own while Weiss tries to break through with her knight, then Nora overloads the system. To be frank, I’m not great at analyzing combat. Not unless I’m looking for something specific like whether a win is justified. I’ve already mentioned above the broad issue of the Ace Ops very nearly beating the most powerful fighter next to Salem herself, yet failing so spectacularly against Team RWBY. Outside of that context though? I really enjoyed this. Lots of tight action, creative attacks, teamwork, some emotional pauses throughout… it feels like a pretty solid battle. Put it on Youtube as a clip, outside of the rest of the story’s messiness, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic watch.

We can’t stay in the combat forever though. During all this Weiss calls the Ace Ops “cowards” for making it four vs. one. You know, RWBY should really just do away with dialogue and make the show purely action because the cast frequently sounds so stupid when they speak. Like her comment about Ironwood’s lockdown… really Weiss? ‘Yes, we might be wanted criminals who betrayed this group in the worst possible way, but how dare they not do the honorable thing and have three of their teammates sit out while trying to capture us? Even though the girl they’re trying to capture has magic. I mean, the nerve of them!’

Weiss, at this point I’m not sure how to explain to you that the people you’ve made into your enemies do not owe you a fair fight.

Another detail: we get to see Ruby fall off the edge of the walkway and this time she remembers she can fly! A definite improvement from Volume 6.

Finally: by the time Penny’s eyes go full Maiden in Elm’s grip, I think we’ve seen everything from our trailer. Episode 4 will truly be a mystery.

Ironwood has, of course, been watching the fight this whole time. When it looks like the Ace Ops will lose against the team he means to send in reinforcements, but Watts says he has “a message for your operatives.” Instead of capturing Penny they steal one of her swords instead, ending with a shot on Marrow looking conflicted.

Because remember, there’s no actual moral grayness in this story. The protagonists are right and everyone else is wrong. It’s (supposedly) black and white. Which means that if the Ace Ops have any hope of surviving this Volume and being seen as anything other than evil bootlickers, they have to join with Ruby. Marrow seems primed to do that.

Am I surprised? No. Disappointed? Always lol.

May has the airship ready to go and they fly off… despite the shields. And the lockdown. Consistency? Who’s she? Nora is said to be “in bad shape” and after another hug Penny leaves to hide in Amity, even though Ruby thinks that hiding is a useless, cowardly choice. Just not when she and her allies choose to do it.

We end the episode with Watts receiving Penny’s sword and making the statement, “If you can’t beat them… then make them join you.” I have to say, his cheesy villainy is something I continue to enjoy, even if it’s heavy handed at times. Watts is just fun. I do have to say though: if Penny is hacked, what does that say about her agency? We double-downed on the ‘real girl’ narrative by giving her the Maiden powers, but she’s simultaneously synthetic enough that a single piece of her can remove all autonomy? It once again feels like RT isn’t sure what point they’re trying to make, they’re just chucking a lot of themes at the wall and seeing what sticks. Still, we’ll have to let it all play out before making any judgements.

And that’s it for this week. It seems like this is a slightly shorter recap than normal, though that may be because I struggle with discussing pure action sequences, which made up a decent chunk of this episode. I’ll no doubt return to the Ace Ops vs. Penny fight when I’m not on a self-imposed, one day deadline for posting. The only thing left is to update the Bingo Card, but I don’t think we made any headway this week. So... good job, RWBY?

I’m still going to hold off on the civilian’s square until Salem’s army actually attacks, as well as the two day timeline square.

No Winter this episode

Watts is teaming up with Ironwood which is… so much worse than him teaming up with Jacques again. Does a square get an X if the canon is even worse than what you assumed it would be??

Maria was mentioned this episode. Jury’s out on whether she’ll actually do anything.

Atlas is still standing, we knew Penny was heading towards a hack so it’s not much of a cliffhanger, no Qrow, no Ozpin, no Neo or Cinder.

It certainly looks like we can check off “The team gets Amity up and running,” but let’s just see if there are any problems next episode. If the problem is only ‘We would have launched it if not for Salem’s attack’ or something, I’m checking it off. The point is it would have worked.

I’m also leaning towards “More obvious Blake/Yang implications without confirming a relationship” given Blake’s heart-to-heart with Nora… but let’s see if the Volume does anything more egregious.

All in all (and perhaps despite what I’ve written above), I don’t think it’s fair to totally drag this episode. As said, this feels like a strong episode in a bad story, something that I would have LOVED if a) Salem weren’t here and b) the ‘ethical dilemma’ wasn’t boiled down to a ‘Team Ruby is good’ and ‘Ironwood and everyone associated with him is evil’ situation. It’s an episode whose tone and character action belong in a different version of RWBY. If you gave us this fun episode in an earlier Volume against a Pure Evil antagonist? It would have been great.

Ah well. It is what it is. Expect more emotional whiplash when we come back and everyone learns that Oscar has been kidnapped by Salem’s talking pooch 🙃

See you then! 💜

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby strings #mymetas #rwby recaps #apologies if this Recap is messier than normal #I have a zoom meeting in five minutes lol #gotta go fast!

54 notes · View notes

thebladeblaster · 4 years ago

Text

Pokémon: the Dark Circuit (aka Vanguard Descends season 2)

Chapter 8 Prelude To The Circuit Part 1 (cont.)

“I think we already did this.”, Kamui replied.

Aichi looked over to Olivier.

“Is that fine with you?”, Aichi asked and Olivier nodded.

“Yes, I came here to talk as well.”, Oliver replied.

“We must have been thinking something similar.”, Aichi replied.

“Do you mind following me. Your friends may come along if they wish.”, Olivier asked.

“You bet we will!”, Kamui replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”, Aichi replied.

Oliver, Aichi, Misaki and Kamui started walking.

“I…”, Aichi looked down as he trailed off.

“Why am I getting tongue tied now? I have been waiting for this moment.”, Aichi thought.

Olivier looked over to Aichi noticing his struggle.

“It must feel a bit awkward to be talking after all these years.”, Olivier said.

��Yeah...umm...so how has things been since I’ve been gone?”, Aichi asked awkwardly.

Before Olivier answered they stopped to see a burnt down manner. Aichi’s eyes widened in shock recognizing the building.

“...My father died and many others in our family in a fire.”, Olivier responded.

Kamui gasped in shock and Misaki looked to Aichi who became very quiet. Aichi looked down at a loss for words.

“Arthur’s dead?”, Aichi questioned, sounding as if he could hardly believe it.

He had wondered why Arthur hadn’t been by his father’s side. He usually always was like how him and Olivier had been.

“I-I...I am sorry to hear that…”, Aichi said quietly.

“It wasn’t a accident. It was a attack meant to kill your father.”, Olivier explained and Aichi was at a loss for words.

His bangs covered his eyes.

“I’m sorry...I haven’t been here for you like you were for me. But if you come back with me to Kakusa maybe we can make things right!”, Aichi said.

Olivier looked rather shocked at the invitation to Kakusa and knew the implication.

“I’m sorry 00...Aichi but I can’t betray Team Asteroid. While from your perspective what your father is doing may seem wrong but it truly is the best for the world.”, Olivier replied.

Aichi looked up heartbroken at his response.

“How do you know? Have you really seen the people of the outside world? How they’ve lived. When I was with Team Asteroid I didn’t know anything besides my father’s vision. It was drilled in my head since birth that it was my purpose to fulfill his vision. I never experienced other viewpoints or what a free life was like.”, Aichi replied, walking up to Olivier.

“That freedom leads to conflict and suffering. Only through the watchful guidance of Team Asteroid can the world reach peace. If there’s no differing ideas there’s no conflict and...no one else has to die in war.”, Olivier replied, looking over at the manner during the last part.

“Olivier...life without freedom is...hell. I know that more than anyone. I suffer the most whenever Team Asteroid tries to control me. Sure freedom can lead to bad things and horrible things. People can be very cruel with free reign to do what they want. But...people can also be very kind to and do things that help people. If people are controlled they can’t evolve or innovate. I may not be fighting Team Asteroid for Arceus, but I believe in the world it created. I believe in the people of this world. Even if they aren’t perfect I know everyone is capable of doing good.”, Aichi replied.

“The world Arceus created is broken. If life was truly created in its image. It is just as flawed as it’s creations. Living in a region like Kakusa has made you naive. The conflict in Kakusa was merely a childish scuffle compared to the conflict with the other regions.”, Olivier replied with a glare.

“Fuck you! You don’t know what we’ve been through! You weren’t there! How could you possibly know!”, Kamui loudly interjected and Misaki didn’t stop him glaring at Olivier herself.

“You’re not the only one who’s suffered.”, Misaki said angrily.

“Then let’s test how strong your will is Aichi! We’ll battle with one Pokémon of the same type.”, Olivier declared pointing at Aichi.

“Why would he impose a weird condition like that?”, Kamui wondered.

“It’s what we call an honor battle. The two trainers in one fight with a Pokémon of the same type, an even playing field. It’s usually to determine who’s way better at raising Pokémon.”, Kamui jumped as Neve walked in.

“Who’s way is better huh? It’s a battle of ideals.”, Misaki said.

“Exactly.”, Neve replied.

“Oh oh! A battle that should be entertaining!”, Rati said.

“What the?! Are you guys ninjas?!”, Kamui questioned.

“We’re trained soldiers or course we know basics like stealth.”, Raul said, causing Kamui to jump and growl at him.

“Which type?”, Aichi questioned.

“Dragon type.”, Olivier declared.

“Alright! I won’t back down! I’ll show you how serious I am! Go, Soul Saver!”, Aichi called out throwing out Soul Saver.

“Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! (I won’t let you get away with making mama angry!)”, Soul Saver roared angrily after she came out feeling the same strong emotions as her trainer through the link.

“Go Prominence Core!”, Olivier called out.

“Garchomp! Garchomp! Garchomp! (I won’t lose to some pet dragon!)”, Prominence Core roared at Soul Saver challengingly.

“Get em bro!”, Kamui cheered.

“This is so childish.”, Misaki sighed.

“I can see they really care about each other but they're both too hard headed to concede to the other. They both think they’re right and know what’s best for each other.”, Misaki thought.

“Soul Saver, let’s go! Use scale shot!”, Aichi ordered.

Soul Saver shot scales at Prominence Core.

“Prominence Core use dragon rush!”, Olivier ordered.

Prominence Core charged at Soul Saver its fins cutting through the scales. Soul Saver narrowly dodged Prominence Core and glared.

“Soul Saver use iron tail!”, Aichi ordered.

Soul Saver dug it’s tusks deep into Prominence Core before it could evade. She slammed her tail hard onto Prominence Core’s rough scales. Prominence Core quickly collected itself slashing at Soul Saver’s tusks with its fin.

“Prominence Core use flamethrower!”, Olivier ordered.

“Soul Saver!”, Aichi called out as Soul Saver’s top half was engulfed with blue flames.

“Heh, is this fight already done. 003v really has become soft in the Kakusa region. After all a Haxorus isn’t even an optimal choice for a dragon type.”, Raul commented.

“Don’t…”, Aichi said as his voice became deeper.

“Haxorus!!! Haxorus!!! (Count me out yet!!!)”, Soul Saver roared.

Prominence Core staggered back as its flame started to be overwhelmed by another blue flame. Through the flame Soul Saver’s eyes glowed menacingly.

“Prominence Core don’t back down!”, Olivier ordered.

“What a miscalculation. His Garchomp really should evade.”, Raul said.

“It’s about his pride. He can’t run away.”, Neve replied.

Prominence Core stood its ground, its fire clashing with Soul Saver’s own. Soul Saver’s glowing eyes showed that she was now using outrage.

“Why can’t you see...”, Olivier thought.

“That you’re wrong!”, Aichi thought.

“I don’t want to be your enemy.”, they both thought.

The area around started to shake and parts of it started to melt from the heated clash. Good thing they were away from civilians here.

“Seems 003v’s Haxorus is very powerful Raul.”, Rati said.

“It’s due to its exposure to 003v’s power as an egg. It’s made his Haxorus unnaturally powerful compared to most of its species. It’s like the enhancement 002f and 004a use but permanent.”, Raul explained.

“That’s amazing can the other Psyqualia user’s do that as well?”, Neve asked.

“I won’t answer it here with enemies nearby.”, Raul replied and Neve nodded.

Rati casually held a box of donuts and munched on one.

“Want one?”, she asked Misaki who sweat dropped.

They weren’t sure how long they had sat there but considering the stubbornness of the two they knew it was long very long. The others had even come there worried something bad had happened. They also sweat dropped as Aichi continued to battle even with his stomach growling like an angry Salamence. The two Pokémon sweated as they were running out of energy. The two ended up collapsing making the battle a draw.

“Want a donut, 003v?”, Rati asked.

“Thank you!”, Aichi hastily thanked before devouring the donut in a few bites.

“You idiot you should have ate before. You should know how much your Psyqualia drains your energy.”, Olivier scolded Aichi, sounding like a worried parent.

Soul Saver smelled the donuts and buckets of drool leaked from her mouth. She jumped up ignoring her tiredness skipping over to Rati.

“Haxorus? (Can I have one too?)”, Soul Saver asked, with her tail wagging like a puppy.

“Aww! Your Haxorus is so cute! You can have one too.”, Rati said, holding out the donut like a dog treat and Soul Saver gulped down the donut in one go,

“Why are you guys taking food from them? It could be drugged or something?” , Honda questioned.

“Rati wouldn’t do that.”, Aichi replied almost instantly sounding strangely sure.

Olivier’s eyes widened looking over to Aichi.

“Does he?”, Olivier thought.

“Why are you so sure of that we met for the first time today?”, Rati asked.

“Really? That’s strange...I feel like we have.”, Aichi questioned, blinking a bit with a look of confusion.

“Now, that I think of it I only spent a few of my early years with Olivier yet I feel like I’ve known him for a lot longer.”, Aichi thought.

“Strange…”, Yugi trailed off as Anzu looked over to him.

“Why does the image of the five of them together feel so familiar?”, Yugi thought.

Suddenly he had a very strange flash. Aichi had the Quatre Knights by his side and a Haxorus. He wore a black general-like cloak. The attire seemed rather out of character for Aichi he knew especially the sinister smirk he had on his face.

“So you’re the other messiah of this era?”, 003v questioned.

To be continued…

Yeah I’m that evil to give you that cliffhanger. Sorry for the lack of updates I have had a hard time writing. Wow, this chapter felt a lot longer than it actually was to me.

2 notes · View notes

daresplaining · 5 years ago

Note

So, in one of your posts you mentioned that you could write a lot about the different contexts in which Danny introduces himself as Danny vs. the Iron Fist. Is there any chance we could ever read those thoughts. Thank you so much for running such an amazing blog; I love it.

I want to preface this with a general statement and apology:

This blog has slowed down a bit in the last… year? Ish? Possibly longer? And this is because life has gotten much more hectic for a variety of reasons. My wonderful co-blogger has been busy enough that she doesn’t really have time to blog anymore, and my life has been fairly chaotic as well. There are messages in the inbox that have been there for a really long time (this one included), and I want to assure you that they will be answered, and that this blog does, in fact, still welcome questions! Thank you all so much for your patience, hello to any new followers, keep on Daredevilling, wash your hands… and now, let’s talk about our boy Danny!

(Context: The post being referenced is this one.)

MCU Danny’s overall story arc orbited around concepts of identity. The entire first season of Iron Fist is an identity quest– Danny returns to Earth, has his identity as Danny Rand stripped away and fights to reclaim it, has his identity as the Iron Fist challenged and fights to defend that, and then is faced with the question of how to balance both of those identities– his adherence to the honor and duties of being the Iron Fist, but informed by his sensibilities and past life as Danny Rand. At the end of the season, he makes the wise choice to return to K’un-Lun to continue his training, to focus more on his role as an Immortal Weapon, only to discover that… something horrible has happened to his home. The truth of what actually happened to K’un-Lun was a mystery that was never answered, and remains for me one of these shows’ most frustrating cliffhangers. But regardless, this discovery is a bomb dropped in the middle of his identity quest. He believes his home was invaded, and it’s notable that his traumatic nightmares of his parents’ deaths are replaced by nightmares of K’un-Lun’s destruction. He feels he cannot fully claim the title of Iron Fist anymore because he has failed in his duties. He has failed his family, his home, the people he was supposed to protect. But he also clings to that identity more tightly than ever as he commits every moment of his life to righting that wrong, to fixing this unforgivable mistake. He is angry and grieving when we see him in The Defenders, his identity a painful, mixed-up thing, and this fact has to be taken into account as we look at the ways Danny introduces himself in that show.

Overall, my feeling is that I’m thinking a lot more about this than the writers were, but hey, it’s still fun to examine. Let’s take a look…

[ID: A screenshot of Danny Rand and Colleen Wing in a dark, green-tinged tunnel, kneeling next to an injured man (Shaft, a member of the Chaste).]

Danny (subtitle): “My name is Danny. I’m hunting members of the Hand.”

This, his first introduction in the show, is a telling one. He is here in a professional capacity as the Iron Fist, doing strictly Iron Fist business (hunting the Hand), fully embodying that identity, yet he doesn’t introduce himself as such. Instead, he’s just “Danny”. (Note: not “Danny Rand”. Danny’s association with the name Rand is another complicated topic that I’ll get back to later.) This is in spite of the fact that he has reason to assume, given that Shaft knows about the Hand, that he would know about the Iron Fist legacy as well.

This can be taken a few different ways. It’s possible that he’s using Danny as just as shorthand; it’s more personal, and he may want to put Shaft at ease by using his civilian name. Or, at this early stage, having now suffered yet another failure of being unable to protect Shaft, it could be reflective of the fact that he doesn’t feel worthy of the title. He is shocked when Shaft recognizes him as the Iron Fist– maybe because he didn’t think Shaft would be so informed, maybe because he is embarrassed and ashamed to be addressed as such.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in Colleen’s dojo, arms folded, looking intensely sincere. He is speaking to Luke Cage (off-screen).]

Danny: “I’m the Immortal Iron Fist.”

And here we have the exact opposite. The above scene with Shaft is very intimate, personal, emotional. Danny is avoiding his Iron Fist identity, downplaying himself. Everything is very quiet and desperate and genuine.

Here, though… Danny is wearing a mask. He is introducing himself in a succinct, summarizing way; projecting an image, providing information. His personal feelings about his identity are completely absent from this scene, because no way in hell is he going to reveal that vulnerable side of himself to someone he barely knows and doesn’t trust (yet). He is also reacting to Luke’s behavior, which up until this point has been dismissive at best, violent at worst. Luke is a sore spot here: a person who Danny initially thought was working with the Hand, and who he struggled to beat in a fight. If Danny was ashamed before, he is extra humiliated now, standing in front of Luke and being scoffed at (“Oh, this is a joke. Come on”).

And so he presents himself as the powerful, in-control Iron Fist he doesn’t actually believe himself to be (“I can answer myself” etc.), throws down a Clif-Notes version of his backstory so Luke can understand who he is, what he was doing when they first met, and why he is a trustworthy ally/asset, and introduces himself with the most formal, intimidating version of his title. Danny is recovering from a bruised ego, and wants the unpleasantness out of the way so that he can continue with his mission– and if Luke is capable of helping, then he wants to make that connection with as little angst and fuss as possible. He needs Luke to know that he is the Iron Fist, even if he doesn’t feel like he actually is.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny strolling into the lobby of Midland Circle, wearing a business suit.]

Receptionist: “Name, please.”

Danny: “Daniel Rand, of Rand Enterprises.”

Having seen one mask, we now get to see the other– this one much more fabricated, though he pulls it off with STYLE. (That swagger! I love this scene.) This is Business Danny at his Business Danny-est: Daniel Rand of Rand Enterprises, wearing a tie and everything. Danny is not a businessperson, as he himself says. He has never been a businessperson. He has never wanted to be a businessperson. And, as he also readily admits, he is not a very good businessperson. But it’s a mask he tried on in IF Season One for identity quest purposes– to tether himself to the Rand name, his civilian identity, which was his sole remaining connection to Earth and which the Meachums were trying to rip away from him– and it’s a mask he now dons again, this time as a weapon against the Hand. His introduction here is just as much of a necessary facade as his introduction to Luke was in the previous example, but this one lacks the emotional baggage.

[ID: The same scene as previous; Danny is smirking coldly at the Midland Circle receptionist.]

Receptionist: “Are they expecting you?”

Danny: “[Chuckles softly] Not like this.”

Okay, sorry, I always say this when discussing this scene, but… DANG. Get ‘em.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in a white-walled Midland Circle conference room, hands folded in front of him, his back to an open door. A whole bunch of people in suits are sitting at a long conference table in front of him, watching him speak.”

Danny: “My name is Danny Rand.”

The charade continues (though note the switch from “Daniel” to “Danny”. He is being just as formal and fake here, but he’s never really been a “Daniel” and it’s possible he says it without thinking). I talked about this moment in detail in the original post, regarding Danny’s strategy and the challenges he faces as his plan starts to go awry, so I won’t repeat myself here, but I will point out that Danny keeps this mask on for as long as he can, even after revealing that he knows they are the Hand, even after Alexandra shows up and starts behaving condescendingly toward him. He embodies the Danny Rand of Rand Enterprises identity for as long as possible, so that they don’t see him as a physical threat until he wants them to, and so that when the moment arrives, it can be as impactful as it needs to be. He wants them off their guard, unsettled, frightened.

[ID: A close-up of Danny from the shoulders up, same scene as above. He is resolute.]

Danny: “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun.”

I think this is genuine. Yes, it’s a shock-and-awe tactic to tell the Hand who they’re really dealing with, but I also think that in this moment, Danny rediscovers some of his confidence. He believes that, after all of his shame and failures, he has found a plan that will work. He has finally tracked down the Hand, he has breached their defenses in a way they were not expecting, and he believes that he can now destroy them. And then he gets emotional. This is about honor and vengeance, and they need to know who it’s coming from and what they are paying for. “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun”– he is retaking his ownership as defender of his city, because he needs to, because he believes he finally can. He has conviction in his identity as the Iron Fist for the first time since the last few episodes of his solo show. And man, it hurts so much to find out that he is wrong.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock (in civvies with a grey scarf tied over his face), standing in a tight circle in a dimly-lit room (a restaurant). Danny is talking to Jessica.]

Danny: “Hey, I’m, uh… I’m Danny.”

Jessica: “Jessica.”

Here is our final scene of Danny introductions: the team dinner, in which he introduces himself to Jessica, and tries to do the same to Matt (who is being grumpy and incognito and therefore is unreceptive to introductions). This one doesn’t have the emotional complexity of the previous examples– Danny is super cheerful and endearing here, delighted to meet these other superheroes and to have found more allies, and he introduces himself with a healthy, informal “Danny”. The beginning of the team-up is the start of the breakdown of his character arc, but it’s a very cute scene regardless– a glimpse of the happy, well-adjusted (or at least adequately repressed) Danny that we had not seen in the MCU at this point since the beginning of IF Season One.

[ID: The same scene. The four of them are standing around a plate-laden table. Matt is leaning intently toward Danny with his hands on his hips, listening to him speak.]

Danny: “Sworn protector of K’un-Lun.”

Part of Danny’s relaxed-ness comes from his belief, again, that with these new allies, his revenge quest is achievable. He is also clearly relieved to have help. He introduces himself as just “Danny” initially– using the most informal and least baggage-laden version of his identity, forming a personal connection with them– and then introduces himself as the Immortal Iron Fist, “sworn protector of K’un-Lun” later, when he starts explaining his role in the fight against the Hand. He is very relaxed about referring to himself in this way here, partly because– again– his sense of self and security has been bolstered, he is feeling good and hopeful, and also, it’s just necessary context that he knows he needs to provide. Specifically, he refers to himself as such to Matt, because he has gathered at this point that Matt has Chaste connections, and therefore assumes that he knows about the Iron Fist legacy. Little does he suspect that overly-emotional Matt failed out of Chaste School before learning any of the important backstory, and is therefore clueless.

[ID: Screenshot of Misty Knight looking over Luke’s shoulder at something that clearly upsets her.]

Danny (off-screen): “You got a chair?”

Please indulge me for just a second: Am I bitter that we didn’t see Danny properly introduce himself to Misty? Am I bitter that their relationship was almost entirely neglected in these shows? Yes, just a little.

Anyway…

Overall, Danny’s emotional arc in this show suffered for the sake of the team-up, and I feel like there is not as much significance in these introductions– these shorthands for Danny’s identity struggles– as there should have been/would have been if this were his show. That said, I do think they are important, and I loved digging into this. Danny’s journey is one of my favorites out of all of the Netflix Marvel protagonists, and I love taking it apart and examining it.

Again, I’m sorry this post was so long delayed, and thank you for the question!

#apple-grass-and-smiles #Netflix Defenders #Iron Fist #Danny Rand #Asks #Commentary

38 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 4 years ago

Text

Power Rangers Beast Morphers Season 2 Episode 22 Review: Evox Unleashed

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This POWER RANGERS BEAST MORPHERS review contains spoilers.

In the end this is how it was always going to be. For as excited as I was after last weeks triumphant Power Rangers Beast Morphers episode, there was no way this episode could live up to it. ‘Evox Unleashed’ is good but it’s not great and much of that can be put down to the mandate that has held back Beast Morphers from living up to its true potential.

As I’ve mentioned many times before but bares repeating now, when Senior Vice President of Power Rangers Franchise Development and Production Brian Casentini left the franchise he left us with this revealing quote.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“I am a big fan of serialized storytelling, but most broadcasters across the globe want more episodic storytelling for scheduling ease.”

Knowing this was a limitation helped me understand the series more and review it under the proper context. It improved many episodes knowing the plot line wouldn’t continue and I could appreciate what they did in such a short time. It hurt others when they didn’t use the standalone story to give us more insight into the characters or even tell a proper one and done lesson. Standalone doesn’t mean it has to be completely disposable.

Casentini went on to say in that same interview that, “I think we found a really great balance (between serialized and episodic) with Power Rangers Beast Morphers.” To give the show credit, many of the serialized episodes did work. The problem was that they more often felt like glimpses into a fully serialized show than proper serialized stories in of themselves. Something felt off about them even when they were good.

That’s not to say only the serialized stories had merit. Some episodic plots were fairly fun and a few were great. Most of them though weren’t used to develop the characters in a meaningful way. Without that the serialized moments the show was able to have couldn’t land. Without character arcs even the biggest of plot moves feel empty.

So it’s no wonder that when we get to the finale we get a lot of great moments that are kneecapped by a lack of development from earlier in the series. The start of the finale is great. It’s tense, we get a tearful moment between Zoey and her mom, and there’s an incredible sequence of the Rangers busting out old weapons. I still wish they had put more time into explaining how the Ranger Vault came to be but it was genuinely clever to have them use old weapons to get around Evox’s ability to absorb their own. Great way to have fan service but still impact the story.

We also get some good callbacks to last episode when Nate says, “I made you, Evox, but today we’re gonna destroy you. As a team!” Perfect way to cement the lesson he learned. Evox later saying, “it’s been a long time since I’ve taken out a civilization” was an excellent RPM callback.

Steel’s sacrifice was also powerful and devastating. More than anyone else we’ve gotten to know and love Steel over these two seasons and he’s always been a delight. Seeing him sacrifice everything was a huge shock but very effective. It gave the rest of the episode more weight. The problem is that while the solution the team comes up with is a good one (combining their human DNA with Morph-X) it’s rooted in the message that the team is strong because they’re human. That’s… true, I guess? But the finale acts like this is something that’s been building up the entire show. It hasn’t. Outside of Steel’s desires to be human this was never built up as a central theme. This wasn’t a constant problem the characters had to deal with in their episodic adventures. I guess you could stretch and say Ravi felt like a bit of a robot when he had to ignore his feelings for Roxy and his love of art but that’s being generous.

Far more effective would have been the very simply message of you don’t have to solve your problems alone. That would have tied into pretty much everyone’s stories in the series. Devon needed to take advice from his dad but refused to listen. Zoey was determined to solve big problems but often tried to do it all on her own. Ravi hid away his feelings and suffered alone. Nate felt isolated from the world and had to build a brother to find friendship. Hell, that would have been a great way to bring in Ben and Betty who while bumbling have always worked together.

And making the ultimate theme of the show, “you’re strong because you’re human” is even more head scratching when you remember the Beast Bots. Are they not strong because they’re robots? Are they only strong because they have human best friends? Is Steel only strong because he’s half human? It’s an odd message with some alarming undertones if you sit there and analyze it. Just looking at on the surface it boils down to ALL MACHINES ARE BAD… when the show did a lot of work to make the Beast Bots sympathetic.

Much of the weight of the start of the episode was able to establish is lost in this confusion and in Steel coming back to life as a human. It’s cute that he finally gets what he always wanted but it robs the show of a more powerful ending. I can understand not wanting to kill a Ranger even if he is a robot but if there were anytime they could get away with killing a Ranger, it’d be here. The human ending is also strange because they add Steel’s voice to his human version. I get why they did it and it was okay in the body swap episode but here it felt too silly. Just give him a regular voice. It would help sell the scene instead of distracting the audience with unintentional comedy.

We then cut to one year later and the montage of scenes is mixed. It’s incredible that Mason Effin’ Truman comes back for a small cameo that also ties off Scrozzle. It subtly does some world building (Corinth and Grid Battleforce are in more contact) and it allows Ben and Betty to finally get some development. Anytime Power Rangers uses James Gaylyn it gets an extra point.

Devon suddenly being a commander doesn’t really work. He moved up in the ranks that quickly? After one year? That’s a little far fetched. Was he even officially enlisted in Grid Battleforce? No one can go from being a recruit to a commander in one year. If he was a commander-in-training I could believe that. This, not so much. Did he even express a desire to be a commander? If this was rooted in an episodic outing earlier in the series it might have been a little easier to buy.

Zoey and Nate working on clean energy was nice though and a good reminder of the franchise’s progressive history. I’m glad they took the time to explain how the city moved away from Morph-X to something that’s attainable in the real world. Power Rangers loves a good message and this was a small but needed one.

General Shaw (love this promotion!) painting with Ravi was cute although it just reminded me how human Roxy was barely in this show. Same with the very bizarre bit with Steel becoming an actor and Blaze being his stunt man. Uh, that came out of nowhere? Steel being an actor, okay, he’s a wacky guy and I can buy that. But Blaze being a stunt man? Yeah he did karate a few times but nothing in the previous episodes set that up. That would have made a nice episodic story that could have reminded us Blaze existed!

The series closes out with the team throwing Steel a birthday and they sing ‘It’s Great to be Human” cementing it as the very odd theme of the show.

Parts of the finale do work, especially the first half, but without any buildup of the shows central themes or the character arcs it all feels flimsy by the end. Its competent but the episodic mandates on the show as a whole crippled its chances. This could have worked with more planning on how the episodic stories could have supported a larger theme but that wasn’t allowed or simply wasn’t done. It makes the finale feel like a slapdash ending that wants to be big and grand but can only manage the trappings of it. The human DNA mixed with Morph-X was a great solution to destroying Evox but rooting it in “it’s great to be human” just made it fall flat. It’s a decent finale but one that will sadly be more known for finally wrapping up the Venjix cliffhanger from RPM than wrapping up Beast Morphers’ story.

This leaves Beast Morphers in a middle ground in the history of Power Rangers. It was a decent series with a lot of potential but ultimately couldn’t deliver on most of it and felt aimless for much of its run. There were genuine moments of quality throughout and you could see a great show in it. Sadly the episodic stories were not up to a high enough quality to sustain the series between the serialized ones, where the show seemed to spend much of its energy. This was Beast Morphers‘ biggest mistake.

Those standalone stories could have been structured in a way to still be episodic while forming a backbone to the show that let those serialized stories thrive. Without that backbone the attempts at serialization just felt like reminders of wasted potential instead of solid stories in their own right.

I’m very interested to see where Power Rangers goes from here. Simon Bennett is one of the more experienced show runners to join the franchise so his influence on the show could be a positive one. Hasbro has also gotten out of the training wheel phase with Power Rangers and could have a better idea of what they want out of the franchise. I hope they take the lessons learned from Beast Morphers and use them to find the best way to work within their mandates to make Power Rangers the best show it can be. It has the potential, Beast Morphers showed that. Let’s hope they can live up to it.

The post Power Rangers Beast Morphers Season 2 Episode 22 Review: Evox Unleashed appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3gK1hIr

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

2 notes · View notes

lovelysilence14 · 5 years ago

Text

The Mandalorian S1 finale - Again, LOVE IT!!!

So, I know my review is a few days late. But, I still feel the need to go on about how much the S1 finale ROCKED. Like, it was one of the best season finales EVER.

Okay, where to start?

That 6 minute opener? Okay, that was one odd way to open up a finale given the last one ended on an action packed cliffhanger. So, it was kind of funny to me that these troopers were all bored while we knew in the city serious crap is going down.

Yeah, it was funny... until they began FREAKING HITTING BABY YODA!

Like... this was me the whole time during the THREE TIMES they were hitting the poor little guy!

WHY WOULD YOU HIT A BABY YOU SICK $*@$#$#!

So, when IG-11 showed up (of course, JUST too late to save Kuiil) and then began beating them when they refused to hand the baby over... never has the sound of breaking bones sounded like such BEAUTIFUL music to my ears.

I was like...

YES, IG! BREAK THEM! BREAK THEM WITH YOUR HANDS!

And seeing Baby Yoda all happy as the IG sped through the town, shooting up troopers, and laughing in child-like glee the entire time? Oh, my sweet baby boy!

The entire battle scene was truly AWESOME. For a hot second, I honestly thought the group would escape and get out of there. But, soon, they were pinned again as Mando was suffering a serious head wound as a huge flame thrower was going to get sicked on them.

Seeing Baby Yoda hold back the wall of flames and sicking it back on the trooper will be a TOP favorite moment for me so far! Like, my baby Yoda is getting so much stronger! Imagine him as an adult, or even a teenager. His power level is going to be SERIOUS.

I’ll admit, I was shocked when we got to see Mando’s face. I did read that someone “confirmed” we wouldn’t ever see his face. Maybe it was said so we wouldn’t expect it?

But, I love the circumstances of it. Mando put on the helmet because of droids taking away his life (so to speak), has never taken it off for anyone and forever hated droids for it. He’s never shown his face again.

Now, a droid is saving and giving him back his life and is the first “person” to see his face in decades. He owes his life to a droid now. It’s truly poetic and I love that he didn’t do it for any other reason, even a love interest.

And then seeing Mando actually a tad desperate to save the IG unit when realizing that Kuiil was right and that not all droids are evil creatures... CHARACTER GROWTH. You know he was sad as he watched the IG blow itself up to save them all. I love that he’s finally getting over his prejudice and we’ll see him at least reasonably trusting towards droids in season 2.

Or maybe it’ll just be nurse droids? Haha.

I’ll admit how sad I am that the Covert/Tribe was taken out. I had SUCH faith they’d survive in Chapter 3, but hopefully a few did! That’ll probably be a one episode plot in S2.

Another poetic thing I found about this episode’s story was the history revealed between the Mandalorians and Jedi. Mando has gone through hell and back protecting the Child. Yet, he has no idea what the kid is whatsoever.

So when the Armorer revealed that the Child is a Jedi and that, historically, its people are their enemies, I found it almost amusing in a way, you know? The adorable little creature he’s grown to love is historically his enemy. Yet he’s grown to care for his “enemy” like a dad with his boy.

Then she declared Baby Yoda an official Foundling and Mando his official father!

I was going, Congrats, Mando! It’s a boy! at my screen.

Even though Mando has truly been his father up to this point, hearing it declared was SUCH an iconic moment! I love that even though Jedi are their enemies, her being willing to accept the kid as one of their own was such a heartfelt moment!

And it’s truly official! Mando is Baby Yoda’s (adopted) father!

I seriously hope Mando ends up keeping Baby Yoda as his own! Like, we know what will happen to the baby if he ends up in a Jedi academy!

Let’s hope Mando ends up keeping him as his own! These two HAVE to have a happy ending! Please!

And I think it’ll be so beautiful in a way if Baby Yoda does end up as a Mandalorian/Jedi. Think about it!

Mandalorians and Jedi are enemies by history. (At least from what I’ve gathered, forgive me if I’m wrong! I’m a Star Wars fan, but I don’t know all the in-depth details about it.)

Can you imagine Baby Yoda forever bonding the two groups as a natural Jedi to become a Mandalorian? Donning the helmet and becoming just like his father?

Like I said, to me that’s so poetic.

And seeing Baby Yoda waddle towards his new official dad in the end and tugging on his pant leg? AWW! And Mando picking him up and flying away with him in the EXACT same manner he did with another Mando as a kid!

PARALLELS ANYONE?

And they did have my dream ending for the finale! Space Dad and Baby flying off into the stars to have more adventures together!

Yay, on that!

I have NO idea how I’m going to wait until FALL 2020 for season 2! Like, I am literally going to be turning a new age until it comes back.

I’ll have to binge watch S1 over and over again and watching YouTube videos of them until then. Seriously, this is one of my most FAVORITE shows ever. I love it so much more than the new trilogy (no offense to those who do like the movies, I just don’t care for them personally) because the story telling is so AWESOME.

I love it.

Whatever they’re doing to make it so great, I seriously hope they keep in S2.

#the mandolorian spoilers #the mandalorian #baby yoda

23 notes · View notes

doof-doofblog · 5 years ago

Text

"Bobby! Can You Hear Me?!"

Tuesday 28th April 2020

Evening everyone! As promised, here is my second post of the day! I hope you all enjoyed my earlier post reviewing last night's episode. To start off though I believe there have been some miner spoilers realised, which I have only been made aware of within the past few hours. I wouldn't necessarily call it spoiler, more speculation. It will appear that Chantelle and Kheerat start to form a strong bond and it's been mentioned that Kheerat could actually be the one that Chantelle opens up to about Gray's abuse. I'm sure this is something that you're probably all aware of by now, as there as been slight flirtation between the characters, but to some, it may be news ... who knows? It is yet to be seen, but with all the directions the stories are leading to, I think it'll only be a matter of time before Chantelle says something!

Anyway shall we focus on tonight's episode, I felt it was another one full of drama! So many cliffhangers that we have to wait another week for until we see what happens, but it'll all be worth it i'm sure! Let's start off with what's happening with the Trueman family. So, after Isaac let off a bit of steam, he informed Denise about how both Patrick and Sheree have been acting suspiciously in recent weeks since his arrival, and most importantly how Patrick has dropped little hints here and there that he is actually his biological father. Of course, Denise has been completely unaware of the secret that both Sheree and Patrick have been hiding, you could see she was deeply shocked and surprised to figure out that Patrick was Isaac's father. After learning the truth and realising that Isaac has been lied to and not been told anything about his past, she came up with an idea. She called Patrick and told him to meet Sheree at the Vic, and Isaac went to the Salon where Sheree would think she'd be meeting Denise.It seems like the perfect way to finally get one of them to reveal the truth, if not both of them. Isaac can confront his Mum and get her to explain everything to him, even though i'm sure he'll be devastated that he's been lied to for so long. Plus Patrick has only known for a few months, and it's been clearly hard for him to keep to himself, he's been desperate to say something since he found out. I think this will be a huge weight of his shoulders, and hopefully, in time and if Isaac will want to, hopefully they can start to build a father-son relationship. Isaac is going to have a lot of questions for Sheree though before we get to that stage. Why did she lie to him for all those years? Why did she never tell Patrick? Why didn't she want Isaac to know? Whatever the answers may be, there is sure going to be a long road ahead for Isaac when he takes in this new information.

I don't know about you guys, but I really wanted to see the scene where Phil would sit Linda down and tell her exactly what life is like being an addict! I'm gutted I have to wait a whole week to see what Phil is going to tell her! So, after Linda came home from her meeting she told Mick and Shirley that Phil was there. I loved that little quote she made about it being Phil Collins! Haha! Anyway, neither Shirley or Mick were surprised, but Shirley, of course, stood up for Phil after Linda made a comment about him being there. She is right in the fact that Phil only knows too well what it's like and how hard it can be trying to remain sober and that Linda should listen to him! Eventually Phil actually went to in and put in a offer for the Vic and he's offering Mick the asking price,but he'll only give the asking price so Linda can swap her days at the AA meeting. Mick also informed Linda about Phil had said about her, that it would be for the best if she were to move out of the Vic as soon as possible! Linda, being the feisty woman that she is, went to have it out him, but I believe that she'll come to understand him a lot more after this conversation they're about to have. Phil revealed that he had been sober for almost 4 years, but still if it weren't for him going to those AA meetings, he would still be suffering with alcohol. I think Linda then realised that she's got a long long road ahead until things get easier for her, that is if they do get easier. She needs to realise that she is an addict and there are always going to be temptations in her path, but she needs to realise that she can get through this, it's just going to take time. What better person to tell her all the truths about being an addict than Phil?! He's been right in the gutter with not just alcohol, but with drugs also ... does anyone remember when he was a heroin addict? That was the most fantastic and so real performance that I've ever seen from an actor! I can't applaud Steve McFadden enough, he has and always will be my favourite EastEnders actor! I think the chat that Linda and Phil will have will really be an eye-opener for Linda. I'm really looking forward to seeing that scene unfold, roll on next Monday!

Uh-Oh ... so Chantelle and Kheerat have found themselves trapped after a power cut happened in the Panesar household! Unfortunately, this could mean severe consequences for Chantelle, as just as the power cut happened, she was on the phone to Gray telling her he needed her, as he's come to find out where Whitney is! I mean, he wasn't happy with the news that she had to go and work there in first place, is he going to be even more angry at her now? I mean, it wasn't her fault there was a power cutt, but I bet he will say if her mobile was switched on she wouldn't have been there when it happened! There were spoilers that both Chantelle and Kheerat were going to locked in a room together, does this mean that this could be the time they open up to one another? Will Kheerat tell her about how he feels about his Mum? Could he really be feeling disgusted with his Mum after finding out about her lies and is he just putting on a front? But also, could this be the time that Chantelle finally reveals to someone about how Gray abuses her! It's an interesting situation and again there are so many twists and turns that it can take. I really am gutted tonight's episode ended where it did, there's so much stuff i'm looking forward to finding out! I just hope Chantelle won't get the blame for the power cutt and Gray will understand.

Okay, so everyone now knows where Whitney is, and hopefully Gray and/or the police will be on their way to save her! I felt for Whitney tonight ... she's still being tormented and still having to relive those harrowing ordeals that Tony and Leo put her through. I really felt for her when she had to listen to Michaela talking about Tony and how she thought she was in love with him, and then coming to realise who Leo was, it felt horrible to watch I think. You could see Whitney just thinking things over and over in her head about everything she has been through. However, the big shock was that Michaela knew what Tony was like, she threw him out and that's why he went back to Bianca where he continued to abuse Whitney. All those years, Michaela knew what Tony was doing and she let it happen, even though she thought she was trying to protect Leo, she should've also tried to save/protect Whitney, and she never did. Is she feeling guilty that she never acted? Could this be why she's taken Whitney hostage? Does she want to tell her exactly what she went through? Or could it be a scheming way of getting Whitney to admit to murdering Leo?! It's an interesting cliff hanger ... lets just hope Whitney will be saved or be able to escape, and Michaela will get what's coming to her!

Oh Bobby! Poor Bobby! All he wants is to win the girl! That's all he wants! He's trying so hard to impress Dotty .. he dressed really nicely, he bought her a drink, complemented her and she still didn't get the hint! She seems to think that they're just friends ... it's a shame though, as just before it was revealed that Bobby had collapsed, Peter and Dotty shared a moment and were literally about to lean in for a kiss! Was it only me who noticed that?! I sure as hell felt like a kiss was going to happen! Poor Bobby actually resorted to taking drugs to (perhaps) impress a girl! He knew Dotty was selling something, even though she refused to give him some, I guess he just wanted to fit in and maybe not have her see him as "Just a kid!" ... What was it that Bobby took? I hope he'll be okay! How is Peter going to feel, knowing purely that his little brother has feelings for the girl he is flirting with! Even when Peter mentioned to Bobby about using his passport to enter the club and then commenting that he had used tons of his aftershave, I don't think he was acting as the caring older brother. I don't know what it was, but it felt as if he was skitting at him, maybe? Even telling Bobby to prove it to Dotty that he wasn't just a kid, an then later on, trying to lean in for a kiss with her! What is Peter's game?! I'm not sure I 100% trust Peter, I think he's changed. He used to be such a caring character, and now I'm not so sure ... Am I the only one thinking this? I could be completely wrong and I will take back everything I've said if I am, but ... surely, you wouldn't act on flirting with your brother's crush, would you?! I hope Dotty will come to realise that Bobby actually likes her, and maybe she'll give him a chance? It's uncertain what's going to happen with this story-line, I can see it, that both the Beale brothers will be fighting each other for Dotty's affection. What do you think is going to happen? Will Bobby be okay? Will Dotty give him a chance?

Unfortunately, we have a whole week to wait to see what happens. I've lost track on how many weeks it's been since the soap started airing only 2 episodes a week, I'm hoping there'll still be enough for us to see until things get back to some form of normality. I want to thank you all for reading my blog and being patient with me! I hope you're enjoying the soap just as much as I am! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next and writing up about it! Enjoy the rest of your week folks as much as you can, keep safe and hopefully this will all be over soon! Feel free to message me and share your thoughts and opinions on anything I've posted. I'll always make time to respond! Thanks guys! xXx

#eastenders #isaac baptiste #sheree trueman #patricktrueman #denisefox #lindacarter #philmitchell #whitneydean #michaelaking #grayatkins #chantelleatkins #kheerat panesar #dottycotton #bobbybeale #peterbeale

3 notes · View notes

meimi-haneoka · 5 years ago

Text

Thoughts on Clear Card chapter 37

Missed last chapter because of vacations (to sum it up in few words: WHAT THE HELL (supposedly) AKIHO’S MOM AND NADESHIKO MET IN THE PAST?? AND WERE FRIENDS? HOLY SHIT!), but September has come and with it a new chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card is here! The story has reached a point in which the capture of the cards is definitely pushed aside, to make room for some revelations and new events!! Yes, because when we thought that we eventually could start heading towards the climax, new stuff is revealed and new stuff happens! CLAMP certainly want to impress us every month! Let’s see what made the whole fandom scream “OMG Tsubasa!!” this month (too). Under the cut!

Oh, I cannot really start without mentioning the GORGEOUS double color page that opens this chapter. Nadeshiko and Akiho’s mom, in their angel form! And look what’s in Nadeshiko’s hands? This color illustration not only confirms the colors of the clock necklace, but also the color of the hair of Akiho’s mom, and the fact that she’s dead, very very dead. Those wings don’t lie! I kinda always knew (in the manga CLAMP were very vague before, saying Akiho’s parents ‘aren’t here anymore’, which could mean many things) that she was dead, because I thought “Hell, only death could prevent a mother from saving her child from such a shitty family”. I’m really, really curious to know what those two are up to, both when they were still alive and now that they’re angels.

OH COME ON NOT AGAIN

Eeeeeehhhhh.... So we left the kids last chapter with Syaoran badly hurt from a spark that was ignited when he touched Sakura. Long story short, they find out it’s only happening with Syaoran, Tomoyo (+ Kero and Suppy, later) are absolutely “allowed” to touch Sakura, while Syaoran is fried alive every time he even tries to. Sakura doesn’t get hurt, so it apparently seems something specifically meant to keep Syaoran away from her and hurt him. He even tries to check if it’s a spell, using one of his magic tricks, but it doesn’t work. Still fried. OF COURSE the first thing he thought is that “ano hito” (Kaito) was the culprit for this situation, but after checking better, he says he can indeed feel the aura of a magic spell, but it’s not from that person. And it can’t be turned into a card, so he assumes it’s not Sakura’s power going haywire again. So he poses the major question that will torture us for the next months: WHO THE HELL IS IT, THEN? Do CLAMP want to introduce new characters at this point of the story? OR WE GONNA FIND OUT WE’LL HAVE TO HAVE THAT GRILLED CALAMARI FEST SOONER THAN EXPECTED? Cause if they have something to do with it....eh......get the pyre ready! Now. I know, ever since spoilers were circulating around, the fandom has mentioned “Tsubasa!!!!111!!” again, because of the direct consequence of this: if they don’t want to lose the little wolf prematurely (and I can assure you those shocks hurt badly, there’s even smoke/steam coming from his arm!! wtf!!), they’ll absolutely have to abstain from touching one another. Like, I know CLAMP considered holding hands a taboo, but holy shit! This is taking it a step further XD gotta keep the lovebirds separated! Anyway, the situation in which they can’t touch is sadly well known from the Tsubasa fans, because it’s the key factor that sparked all the events in TRC: Syaoran didn’t dare touching Sakura because of her ritual, and so in the crucial moment he didn’t take her hand, causing her to be engraved with the Seal of Death that eventually led him to wish to rewind time. A situation like this repeating in CCSakura means TRC post traumatic syndrome for sure, for some of us! Another detail that set off the TRC alarms is this stuff here:

Syaoran activates a spell to check if he can touch Sakura with it on. It’s probably a shielding spell. Many people were reminded of the way the spells around Real!Syaoran looked like while he was trapped, or the magic that both Fai and Clone!Syaoran used in the manga, but the truth is that this same style of spells was already used by CLAMP in CCS in the 90s, and now they’re just being compliant with that:

This is purely how Syaoran’s magic spells look like. So calm down people (this) is not a reference!

This panel here kinda squeezed my heart in pain. Cause she comes back home, she forces a smile in front of her father but you can see that it’s not her usual smile (it’s weaker), then she goes to her room and warns Kero to not touch her, even though he was already reaching out to her to greet his master with affection. Without even saying it aloud, you can already feel in Sakura’s gestures that she’s blaming herself for what is happening. “You must stay away from me, or I’ll end up hurting you too”. This panel, added to this one here

where she withdraws her hand abruptly after realizing she hurt Syaoran twice, they really make me feel sorry for Sakura.

OH COME ON NOT AGAIN PT. 2

Eh. After finding out that Kero and Suppi are totally fine with touching her and the only one having problems is the young heir of the Li family, the first thing that comes to Sakura’s mind is this. The Evil!Syaoran from her dream. Remember last time we saw him? It was in chapter 26, 11 chapters and almost one year ago. After all this time he’s still relevant, so this must mean something. It will certainly bring up some mess, whether it’s a true dream or not it doesn’t matter, the mere thought is enough to let us realize that Sakura hasn’t forgotten and it’s still in the back of her mind. Ready to cause a disaster, should her psychological state get worse. Sakura reminds herself firmly that that was just a dream....but is it?

THUMBELINA SAKURA

And when we thought it couldn’t get worse than this, Sakura shrinks in the middle of a conversation with Akiho, the gust of wind was the only thing that didn’t allow Akiho to see what happened!!! The situation is indeed pretty hilarious especially when Syaoran finds her and uses Mirror to replace her temporarily, but thinking better about it we can all realize this is gonna be a mess, because Syaoran can’t touch her. And who knows where the gust of wind took her!! We get one of the 32874 cliffhangers in which Syaoran shouts “Sakura!!!11!!1!ONE!!” cause if we don’t, it’s not a proper Clear Card chapter. XD

We need to wait for October to find out what will happen and whether this is indeed a Clear Card at work, or it’s Kaito or whatever else, but let me briefly dwell on this stuff of “not touching”. If you follow my comments and analysis (and asks) from long time, you know I’ve mentioned often that Syaoran and Sakura’s relationship has long entered a comfortable “zone” in which they hug eachother in times of desperation, and all the hugs are initiated by Syaoran. When he feels like he’s losing her, when he feels like he’s not protecting her enough, he looks to hold her in his arms. They both need eachother’s touch (remember episode 14 of the anime? Sakura could only calm down because of Syaoran’s hug). But now? Syaoran won’t even be able to touch her with one finger. What is gonna happen if Sakura will find herself in a situation in which she has a panic attack? Syaoran will probably die inside knowing that he can’t do anything for her. He can’t tell her about Kaito, he can’t even touch her now. I am fearing for his mental state too. If CLAMP want to drive Syaoran crazy, in my opinion this is the right way. He would probably suffer an eletrical shock on his whole body if that meant he could hold her, but he knows better, he knows that Sakura would be devastated by that. I am concerned.

#cardcaptor sakura #Card Captor Sakura #clear card arc #clear card #ccs spoilers #chapter 37

42 notes · View notes